7.  2.S\  ^l 

LIBRARY    OF    THE    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,     N.     J. 
PRESENTED  BY 


[yCuu2.     o.    UM^-e/iA^ 


->' 


or    •■)3J 


The  Life  and  Works  oK^gg^^,^sy^ 
Rev.  Charles  S.  Albert,  D.D. 


Edited  by 
REV.  EDWIN  HEYL  DELK,  D.D. 


PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 
THE   LUTHERAN   PUBLICATION   SOCIETY 


Copyright,  1915,  by 
THE   IvUTHERAN  PUBI,ICATION  SOCIETY 


PREFACE 

There  is  no  volume  in  your  library  bearing  the  fra- 
grant name  of  Dr.  Charles  S.  Albert,  though  he  was  a 
voluminous  writer.  He  prepared  sufficient  manuscript 
to  fill  not  one  book  alone,  but  a  whole  shelf  of  books. 
Once  or  twice  he  was  about  to  set  his  pen  to  the  task 
of  book-making,  but  other  duties  seemingly  more  im- 
portant claimed  his  time,  and  he  was  forced  to  relin- 
quish his  earlier  purpose.  When  it  is  remembered  that 
during  the  eighteen  years  of  his  editorship,  our  publi- 
cations increased  in  number  from  three  to  eighteen, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  task  devolving  upon  him  was 
herculean,  to  say  the  least. 

Notwithstanding  this  fact,  the  wish  persisted  that 
we  might  have  a  book  from  his  hand.  And  there  are 
scores  and  hundreds  who  joined  in  this  worthy  wish, 
but  the  sudden  taking  off  of  Dr.  Albert  shattered  tem- 
porarily all  hopes  of  its  realization.  However,  a  few 
of  his  friends,  encouraged  by  his  family,  suggested 
that  selections  be  made  from  all  his  writings  and  put 
in  permanent  form.  The  Board  of  Publication 
heartily  approved  the  project,  and  the  work  was  placed 
in  charge  of  Dr.  Delk,  who,  for  many  years,  was  Dr. 
Albert's  pastor  and  close  personal  friend.  Mrs.  Albert 
and  her  family  turned  over  all  the  material  in  their 
possession.  A  number  of  the  articles  in  the  memorial 
volume  never  before  appeared  in  printed  form.  The 
work  of  selecting  and  preparing  the  manuscript  for 
the  press  has  been  faithfully  and  cheerfully  done.  As 
the  pages  lie  before  us,  the  last  one  having  been  read, 
we  are  impressed  anew  with  Dr.  Albert's  powers  of 
mind  and  heart.  For  elegance  of  diction,  simplicity 
of  style,  depth  of  spiritual  insight  and  power  of  illus- 
tration, our  Church  may  have  had  his  equal  but  never 
his  superior. 


IV  PREFACE 

The  volume  is  in  four  parts : 

I.  "The  Life  of  Rev.  Charles  S.  Albert,  D.D.," 
by  Rev.  Edwin  Heyl  Delk,  D.D. 
II.  "Sermons  and  Papers." 

III.  "Articles    on    the    Work    of    the    Sunday 

School." 

IV.  "Articles  on  General  Religious  Themes." 

Some  of  the  statistics  have  been  revised.  In  other 
cases  where  the  figures  have  been  woven  into  the  tex- 
ture of  the  article  and  serve  the  purpose  the  writer 
had  in  mind,  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  bring  them 
up  to  date. 

We  covet  for  this  volume  a  place  in  every  minister's 
and  layman's  library.  It  has  a  message  of  truth,  cheer 
and  hope  for  men  and  women  in  all  walks  of  life.  Dr. 
Albert  did  not  write  for  literary  effect.  He  was  a  man 
of  conviction,  and  because  he  believed  he  has  spoken 
to  the  thousands  who  are  bearing  the  responsibilities 
of  the  kingdom  in  home  and  Church. 

One  will  not  go  far  in  these  pages  to  find  that  Dr. 
Albert  was  a  Lutheran.  He  loved  his  Church  and  was 
loyal  to  her  institutions  and  interests.  Only  upon  such 
an  one  would  the  General  Synod  confer  so  many  honors 
and  ask  such  large  service. 

This  volume  is  not  sent  forth  primarily  to  perpetuate 
the  memory  of  Dr.  Albert.  His  name  will  not  soon 
be  forgotten.  Our  purpose  is  the  rather  to  give  to  the 
Church  the  rich  fruitage  of  his  rare  spiritual  powers 
and  to  advance  that  kingdom  to  which  he  gave  the  last 
full  measure  of  his  devotion.  The  first  purpose  will 
be  accomplished  in  the  second. 

May  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  called  and  plentifully  en- 
dowed Dr.  Albert,  making  him  such  a  force  for  right- 
eousness and  truth,  own  this  volume  and  use  it  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son. 

CHARLES  P.  WILES. 
Philadelphia,    Pa. 


CONTENTS 

I.  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT,  D.D. 
II.  SERMONS  AND  PAPERS 


PAGB 


Fundamental  Principles  of  Christian  Worship 29 

The  Diet  of  Speyer;  the  Rise  and  Necessity  of  Prot- 
estantism       5j 

Sermon  Before  the  General  Synod   87 

The  Lutheran   Church no 

The  Changed  Conditions  of  Education   129 

The  Great  Confession  144 

Our  Lutheran  Church  and  Higher  Criticism  152 

What  Does  Lutheranism   Stand  For? 157 


167 


in.  WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

How  Can  the  Teacher  Become  Most  Proficient  in  the 

Use  of  the   Bible  ? 

The  Discouraged  Teacher;  or.  Sowing  and  Harvesting  174 

Immediate  and  Lasting  Results  179 

"Lest  We  Forget" ig, 

A  Little  Child  jg^ 

The  Seed  and  the  Soil loi 

Avoiding    Disputes    105 

The  Teacher's  Sin  jog 

Summer  Work  203 

Decision  for  Christ   207 

The  Master's  Methods  with  Men  211 

"Heads  of  Families"   21  s 

Vision  of  the  Spiritual  219 

The  Catechetical  Class  and  the  Teacher  223 

Looking  at  Teaching  in  a  Large  Way 226 

Is  One-Truth  Teaching  Ideal  ?   230 

5 


6  CONTENTS 

PACE 

The  Law  of  Christ 233 

Hidden    But   Living    236 

The  Teacher's  Preparation   239 

The  Unsung  Poem   242 

Uplift  in   Our  Work    245 

A  Time  of  Decision    248 

"Discovering  a  Genius"   251 

What  Influenced  You  Most  ? 254 

What  the  Common  School  Has  Done  257 

Teach   Righteousness    259 

Vacation  and  Return  to  Work  262 

Weakness  of  the  New  Education  265 

Unpromising  Material 267 

Occasional  Teachers   269 

IV.  GENERAL  RELIGIOUS  THEMES 

The  Kingdom  and  the  Church '2.^Z 

Personal  Persuasion  278 

Easter  Joy 282 

Interesting  to  God   287 

Immortality   291 

Presumption   295 

The  Imperfect  Church  299 

Wells  in  the  Wilderness 303 

Signs  of  the  Indwelling  Spirit  307 

Emotion  and  Action    311 

The  Choicest  Gift   3^5 

The  Certain  Future 320 

The  Deepest  Help  324 

"Back  to  Christ"   328 

Spiritual    Power    332 

Power    33^ 

Pleasing  God   340 

Fishers  of  Men 345 

Giving   350 

Religious  Instruction   354 


CONTENTS  7 

PAGS 

Un  KNOWN   Results    358 

The  Highest  Things  362 

Patience  365 

Possibilities    369 

Discouragements    373 

Comfort  in  Christ's  Knowledge  of  Us   376 

Righteous  Living,  the  Crying  Need  of  Our  Day 379 

Blessings  in  Disguise  383 

A  Revival  of  Interest  386 

"I  Go  to  Prepare  a  Place  for  You" 389 

A   Christmas   Meditation    393 

The  Highest  Ministry  397 

Encouragement  401 

Faith  and  Fear — A  Life  Contrast  404 

Which — Reputation  or  Simplicity  ? 407 

Joyfulness  411 

Overstress     414 

The  Universality  of  Christ  417 

Watchwords   420 

Thwarted    Purposes    423 

Personal  Work    426 

Judgments   429 

The  Truth  in  Love  431 

Talent  and  Equipment  433 

Manly   Ministers    436 

Life  More  Than  Word  438 

Some  Day,  Some  Great  Service 441 


I 

LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT,  D.D. 


Life  and  Works 
of  Charles  S.  Albert 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT,  D.D. 

by  edwin  heyl  delk 

Early  Days 

Character  and  achievement  root  themselves  in  hered- 
ity and  environment.  It  is  true,  as  Emerson  has  said, 
"Nature  dehghts  in  surprises,"  but  if  we  knew  all  the 
facts  and  forces  at  work  in  individual  careers,  much 
of  the  surprise  would  be  translated  into  delightful  ex- 
planation. Individuality  is  too  subtle  and  potent  a 
thing  to  be  accounted  for  on  purely  hereditary  and  cir- 
cumstantial combinations  of  parental  traits  and  neigh- 
borhood customs,  but  we  must  never  relinquish  the 
clue  which  heredity  and  early  surroundings  give  in 
forming  the  background  of  a  biography. 

The  father  of  Charles  Stanley  Albert,  the  Rev. 
John  Jacob  Albert,  was  a  preacher  of  more  than  aver- 
age ability  and  attainments.  He  was  a  robust,  indus- 
trious, devoted  pastor,  who,  nevertheless,  found  time  to 
do  some  reading  as  well  as  attending  to  horse  and  gar- 
den. His  training  had  taught  him  to  appreciate  the 
value  of  a  liberal  education.  His  personal  piety  was 
his  chief  asset,  however,  and  his  intense  desire  to  have 
his  three  boys  enter  the  gospel  ministry  is  a  revela- 
tion of  his  own  convictions  and  character.    His  humble 

11 


12  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

but  tireless  devotion  to  those  committed  to  his  pastoral 
care  was  a  ceaseless  memory  in  the  mind  of  his  more 
able  son.  His  various  pastorates  were  situated  among 
the  hills  and  valleys  of  eastern  Pennsylvania. 

Julia  Diehl,  the  mother  of  Charles,  was  a  Christian 
woman,  ambitious  for  the  education  of  her  children 
and  devoted  to  their  highest  interests.  If  the  secret 
of  most  boys'  ideals  and  careers  is  the  outcome  of  a 
mother's  influence,  then  we  must  forego  a  full  and 
satisfactory  delineation  of  the  dominant  influence  in 
the  life  of  Charles  Albert.  Twelve  children  were  born 
to  these  two  faithful  servants  of  God — of  whom  Sarah, 
Julia,  Luther,  Allen  and  Charles  lived  to  maturity. 
Charles,  the  youngest,  was  born  at  Hanover,  Pa., 
August  17,  1847.  The  following  letter,  written  by  his 
sister,  Julia — Mrs.  Quay — who  is  still  living,  gives  a 
graphic  picture  of  her  youngest  brother. 

"You  know  I  am  thirteen  years  older  than  Charles, 
and  I  was  married  and  left  home  when  he  was  not 
quite  ten,  and,  excepting  one  visit  of  about  six  weeks, 
when  he  was  sent  to  me  to  be  on  a  farm,  on  account 
of  overstudy,  I  never  saw  him  but  for  short  visits  at 
long  intervals.  He  learned  to  read  by  going  with  a 
public  school  teacher,  of  whom  he  was  very  fond,  to 
school  just  because  he  begged  to  go  and  the  young 
man  who  taught  liked  to  have  him.  He  never  dis- 
turbed anyone,  and  the  teacher  just  let  him  sit  with 
him  at  his  desk,  and  made  no  attempt  to  instruct  him. 
as  he  thought  he  was  too  young,  but  Charles  watched 
and  listened  to  the  rest,  and  the  teacher  was  just  as 
much  surprised  as  anyone  when  he  found  that  he  could 
read,  and  knew  more  of  history  and  geography  than 
pupils  three  times  older.  This  was  the  winter  when 
he  passed  his  fourth  birthday  in  August.  One  reason 
why  he  was  allowed  to  be  with  the  young  teacher  so 
much  at  the  time  was  because  mother  had  typhoid 
fever  and  was  confined  to  her  bed  for  nine  weeks,  and 
I  was  glad  to  have  him  out  of  the  house,  as  I  nursed 


LIFE  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT,  D.D.  13 

mother  the  most  of  the  time.    I  am  sorry,  but  I  cannot 
recall  the  teacher's  name.     It  was  while  we  lived  m 
Bellefonte,  and  the  next  spring  we  moved  to  Salona, 
where  Charles  at  once  commenced  going  to  school  reg- 
ularly to  a  Mr.  Daniel  Herr.     He  was  only  six  when 
he  commenced  to  read  Latin.    As  father  had  a  number 
of  congregations,  and,  of  course,  went  from  one  to 
the  other  with  horse  and  buggy,  he  delighted  m  taking 
the  boys,  and  often  me,  along,  and  many  a  tale  he  told 
us.     Charles  would  take  his  books  along  and  father 
would  talk  over  his  lessons  with  him,  and  tell  him 
things  from  his  own  experience  and  observations.     I 
do  not  think  Charles  ever  forgot  anything  he  ever 
tried  to  remember.  Father  was  very  proud  of  Charles  s 
precocity  and  retentive  memory,  and  often  told  us  how 
surprised   his   brother   ministers   were   when,    in   the 
course  of  conversation,  Charles  would  strike  in  with 
some  fact  or  comment  which  they  thought  he  could 
not  possibly  understand.  I  remember  once  when  father 
was  going  down  to  Gettysburg  he  stopped  with  Dr. 
Hay  at  Harrisburg.    He  had  Charles  with  him,  and  as 
they  were  sitting  in  the  library  Charles  went  to  the 
bookcase  and  got  down  a  book,  and,  after  a  little,  called 
out  to  father.   There,  papa,  I  knew  I  was  right/   and 
read  out  something  in  Greek  history.    Dr.  Hay  could 
not  believe  that  Charles  really  understood  it,  and  asked 
father  how  old  he  was,  and  proceeded  to  ask  Charles  a 
number  of  questions,  and  when  Charles  read  some 
Latin  to  him  and  translated  it,  thought  that  father  must 
have  taught  him  a  little  just  to  show  ofif.    Charles  was 
then  not  much  over  seven  and  small  for  his  age.  When 
he  was  sent  to  me  that  summer,  I  was  instructed  not 
to  let  him  have  any  books,  but  many  a  time  he  would 
procure  some  and  creep  under  my  bed  and  lie  there 
reading.     He  always  had  a  religious  vein  in  him,  and 
even  when  quite  little  would  get  on  a  chair  and  preach. 
Once,  when  mother  asked  him  how  he  got  the  knees 
of  his  pants  so  dirty,  he  said  he  'Guessed  it  was  be- 


14  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

cause  he  prayed  so  much.'  Now  do  not  think  that  I 
consider  that  an  instance  of  'early  piety,'  but  it  shows 
the  bent  of  his  mind.  Then  you  must  remember,  too, 
that  his  mother's  influence  had  much  to  do  with  it,  and 
many  a  fervent  prayer  did  I  hear  when  she  lay  sick 
so  long,  that  her  boys  might  devote  their  lives  to  God. 
There  were  years  that  I  heard  little  of  my  young 
brothers,  but  just  through  father  or  sister,  and  that, 
too,  just  in  the  formative  period  of  their  lives.  After 
my  husband's  death  my  brothers  were  unfailing  in 
their  kindness  to  me.  I  always  felt  as  if  Charles  was 
a  little  nearer  to  me  than  Allen,  because  I  had  the  care 
of  him  so  much  in  his  babyhood  on  account  of  mother's 
invalidism.  Allen  was  more  of  an  outdoor  child,  but 
Charles  would  leave  his  play  at  any  time  for  a  book." 
His  father  drove  over  the  roads  of  Northampton 
and  Northumberland  Counties  to  preaching  points  long 
distances  apart.  Charles  was  so  young  at  that  time 
that  the  little  fellow  was  stretched  out  in  the  front 
pews  of  the  church  and  went  calmly  to  sleep,  while  his 
father  warned  and  comforted  his  hearers.  This  close 
association  with  his  father  did  two  things  for  him.  It 
cultivated  the  social  instinct  and  unconsciously  pre- 
pared him  for  those  various  personal  contacts  of  later 
life  which  called  forth  his  eminently  democratic  man- 
ner and  spirit.  This  itinerant  pastoral  experience  gave 
him  those  glimpses  into  human  nature  which  made  him 
throughout  life  a  keen  observer  of  the  common  foibles 
and  trials  of  every-day  living.  They  were  years  also 
when  the  country  lad  came  into  contact  with  nature 
which  awoke  that  interest  in  and  love  for  the  trees  and 
skies  and  homely  beauties  of  the  farm  which  became  a 
part  of  his  emotional  inheritance.  It  is  a  good  asset 
in  any  boy's  life  to  have  grown  up  in  the  midst  of  the 
woods  and  fields,  to  know  the  habits  of  the  birds,  the 
rotation  of  crops  and  the  mastery  of  the  animal  life 
about  him.  The  city  youth  who  is  out  of  touch  and 
sympathy  with  the  great  agricultural  class  has  lost  a 


LIFE  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT,  D.D.  15 

point  of  view  that  cripples  his  appreciation  of  the 
primal  sources  of  health  and  wealth. 

College  Days 

Charles,  next  to  his  parents,  owed  more  to  his  own 
industry  in  acquiring  a  preparation  for  college  than 
from  any  other  source.  His  older  brother,  Luther,  had 
gone  to  Pennsylvania  College,  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  and 
was  in  the  ministry.  His  mother's  dying  prayer  was 
that  her  youngest  boy  might  also  have  as  good  an  edu- 
cation as  circumstances  could  afford.  His  father,  after 
the  lapse  of  several  years,  married  a  second  time.  This 
foster-mother  was  good  to  the  bereaved  boy,  but  she 
did  not  quite  appreciate  the  desire  of  young  Charles 
for  a  college  training.  The  hope,  however,  was  never 
relinquished  and  the  preparation  went  on.  At  Turbot- 
ville  the  final  lessons  were  learned  that  fitted  him  for 
the  course  at  Gettysburg.  He  left  home  at  sixteen. 
That  was  an  eventful  journey  for  the  young  boy.  The 
college  was  not  the  only  educational  force  at  Gettys- 
burg, especially  at  the  time  of  his  matriculation.  He 
went  in  the  midst  of  the  great  Civil  War.  To  those  who 
came  in  later  years  to  college  and  seminary  the  spirit 
and  deeds  of  those  great  days  still  were  potent  in 
arousing  a  sense  of  obligation  and  courage  to  face  the 
foes  of  human  liberty  and  leading.  It  was  doubly  so 
for  the  boys  of  '65.  Out  of  the  college  had  gone  a 
company  of  students  to  give  themselves  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  Union.  This  young  stripling,  with  the  big 
mind  and  heart,  felt  the  thrill  and  pressure  of  the  great 
duty.  Life  with  its  pain  and  loss,  its  need  of  courage 
and  consecration,  was  looked  at  face  to  face,  and  some- 
thing of  its  blood  and  iron  went  into  his  resolution  and 
character. 

It  was  a  typical  classical  college  in  those  days.  !Math- 
ematics  had  been  one  of  his  strong  points,  and  together 
with  his  unusual  wide  reading  and  studious  habits,  he 
soon  took  first  rank  among  the  boys  of  his  class.    He 


16  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

quickly  developed  a  love  of  sport  and  athletics. 
Though  unfitted  for  the  more  violent  contests  of  a 
later  day,  his  strong,  wiry  body  lent  itself  to  old-fash- 
ioned baseball,  the  high  jump  and  running.  He  be- 
came a  leader  in  these  sports,  and  until  the  day  of  his 
death  took  keen  delight  in  baseball  and  the  League 
games  played  throughout  our  country.  He  had  a 
group  of  scholars  and  gentlemen  as  his  teachers  and 
examples.  President  Baugher  (Sr.),  Dr.  Frederick  N. 
Muhlenberg,  Prof.  M.  L.  Stoever,  Prof.  Michael 
Jacobs,  and  men  of  like  quality,  were  his  constant 
monitors  and  guides. 

Money  was  too  scarce  and  time  too  precious  to 
waste,  and  our  young  scholar,  beloved  and  admired  by 
all,  pushed  on  through  his  four  years  of  work  and  play 
and  carried  off  the  first  honors  of  his  class  when  he 
was  graduated  in  1867.  Dr.  Edward  T.  Horn,  his  col- 
lege-mate, writes  of  Charles  at  that  time :  "He  was  a 
conspicuous  refutation  of  the  oft-repeated  maxim  of 
the  indolent,  that  you  seldom  hear  much  in  after  years 
of  those  who  were  at  the  head  of  the  class  in  college. 
The  newcomer  to  Gettysburg  forty  years  ago  looked 
with  wonder  at  the  lad  whom  everyone  pointed  out  as 
'the  leader  of  the  college.'  He  was  first-honor  man, 
the  captain  of  the  nine,  famous  as  a  batter,  a  swimmer, 
or  pitcher,  a  favorite  with  all ;  one  of  the  famous  few 
who  never  was  guilty  of  dishonesty  in  the  recitation 
room;  truthful,  manly  and  affectionate.  And  it  will 
be  the  testimony  of  all  who  remained  in  close  friend- 
ship with  him  that  Dr.  Albert  fulfilled  the  promise  of 
his  youth."  Until  this  time,  he  had  fully  intended  to 
become  a  civil  engineer.  His  talent  for  mathematics, 
his  love  of  outdoor  life  and  his  own  inclinations  all 
centered  on  some  pursuit  which  would  furnish  a  field 
for  the  exercise  of  his  native  powers.  Still  the  father's 
ambition  and  the  mother's  prayers  hovered  in  the  back- 
ground. After  his  graduation  Charles  stood  resolved 
to  go  on  with  a  civil  engineering  course,  but  his  father 


LIFE  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT.  D.D.  17 

had  set  his  heart  upon  his  boy  entering  the  Lutheran 

ministry.  ^  ^ 

Seminary  Days 

At  the  earnest  solicitation  of  his  father,  though 
Charles  had  not  relinquished  the  determination  to 
study  civil  engineering,  he  consented  to  go  to  the  Luth- 
eran Theological  Seminary,  then  opposite  Franklin 
Square  in  Philadelphia.  Here  the  young  man  of 
twenty  commenced  his  technical  studies  for  the  minis- 
try. It  was  the  old-fashioned  course  in  Hebrew,  dog- 
matics, church  history,  exegesis  and  symbolics.  He 
evidently  made  an  honest  study  of  Lutheran  Church 
history  and  dogmatics.  There  never  was  anything  of 
the  revolutionist  in  him,  and  he  accepted  without  ques- 
tion the  theological  tenets  that  were  inculcated.  It 
was  an  age  when  the  verbal  inspiration  of  the  vScrip- 
tures  and  the  confessional  principle  were  unquestioned 
in  the  average  seminary.  The  doctrine  of  organic 
evolution,  the  problems  of  the  higher  criticism,  and 
comparative  religion  had  not  touched,  as  burning  ques- 
tions, the  seats  of  theological  wisdom.  All  of  these 
problems  were  later  to  arouse  the  interest  and  antago- 
nism of  conservative  teachers  in  our  denominational 
colleges  and  seminaries.  No  doubt  our  young  theo- 
logue  had  his  hours  of  doubt  and  intellectual  difficulty 
as  he  sought  to  solve  the  problems  which  vex  every 
man  seeking  adjustment  between  theological  theory 
and  life.  His  scientific  training  at  Gettysburg  had  been 
slight  and  his  faith  was  strong.  But  whatever  else  he 
may  or  may  not  have  secured  at  his  seminary,  he  ac- 
quired the  tools  and  material  for  working  out  an  ef- 
fective body  of  religious  belief  which  made  him  a  de- 
pendable and  irenic  preacher  and  pastor  in  the  Church 
which  honored  him  with  her  highest  offices.  It  was 
not.  however,  until  the  middle  of  his  second  year  in 
the  seminary  that  he  made  up  his  mind  to  become  a 
minister.  No  doubt  his  growing  interest  in  his  theo- 
logical studies,  and.  above  all,  the  ambition  and  prayers 


18  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.   ALBERT 

of  his  parents,  were  operative.  But  one  cannot  help 
but  wonder  what  would  have  been  his  career  if  he  had 
followed  his  inclination  of  college  days  to  become  a 
civil  engineer.  It  looks  as  though  one  did  not  always 
know  one's  truest  powers.  For  who  can  think  of  Dr. 
Albert  as  aught  else  than  a  Christian  pastor  and 
preacher?  He  was  graduated  from  the  Theological 
Seminary  in  1870. 

His  Ministerial  Career 

His  first  work  as  a  minister  was  as  assistant  to 
Dr.  Greenwald,  pastor  of  Trinity  Lutheran  Church, 
Lancaster,  Pa.  The  young  and  enthusiastic  sub-pastor 
projected  mission  work  in  that  city,  and  several  con- 
gregations have  been  the  outcome  of  his  foresight  and 
devotion.  It  was  a  happy  and  fruitful  association 
which  he  enjoyed  with  Dr.  Greenwald.  The  older  man 
was  a  careful  writer  and  sympathetic  pastor.  There 
was  an  air  of  dignity  and  cheer  in  the  congregation, 
and  the  young  pastor  was  warmly  welcomed  in  the  old 
historic  church.  Soon  he  met  the  young,  vivacious 
woman  who  shortly  afterwards,  in  1872,  became  his 
wife  and  true  helpmate.  Mary  W.  Baker  was  the 
daughter  of  WilHam  S.  Baker  and  granddaughter  of 
Rev.  John  C.  Baker,  D.D.  They  were  married  in  April ; 
the  same  year  he  was  called  to  the  General  Synod 
Lutheran  Church  of  Carlisle,  Pa.  Here  he  had  full 
opportunity  to  express  his  convictions  concerning  the 
forms  of  worship  and  pastoral  activity  which  he  had 
acquired  in  Lancaster.  The  congregation  had  been 
without  any  liturgy  in  its  form  of  worship  and  the 
catechisation  of  the  children  had  fallen  into  disuse. 
The  hortatory  note  in  religion  had  been  the  dominant 
reliance  in  building  up  the  Christian  life  of  the  congre- 
gation. Dr.  Albert  felt  the  need  of  a  more  systematic 
and  historic  method  of  instruction  and  worship,  and 
tactfully  adapted  these  measures  to  the  congregational 
life.     Soon  the  students  of  Dickinson  College  learned 


LIFE  OF  CHARLES  S.   ALBERT,  D.D.  19 

that  a  young  preacher  of  culture  and  wide  human  sym- 
pathies occupied  the  pulpit  in  the  old  Lutheran  Church. 
From  the  first  he  caught  the  ear  and  won  the  hearts 
of  the  young  people  of  the  community.  The  congre- 
gation grew  in  numbers  and  prestige.  The  reasonable- 
ness and  effectiveness  of  the  new  regime  was  recog- 
nized by  the  older  people,  and  the  ten  years  he  spent 
in  Carlisle  were  happy  years  of  his  ministry.  Children 
came  to  bless  the  growing  family  circle.  In  turn  three 
daughters  and  two  sons  came  to  cheer  and  honor  their 
parents.  Here  Dr.  Albert  commenced  afresh  his  read- 
ing and  careful  preparation  of  sermons.  The  material 
and  impetus  gathered  at  Carlisle  stood  him  as  a  valu- 
able asset  in  his  more  exacting  ministry  in  later  life. 
He  entered  into  the  sports  of  the  gentleman  friends  he 
made,  and  became  a  factor  in  the  higher  literary  life 
of  the  college  town.  The  friends  he  made  he  never 
lost.  He  was  called  in  1881  to  the  pastorate  of  St. 
Mark's  Church  in  Baltimore,  on  Eutaw  Street.  This 
church  was  situated  in  the  down-town  district  and  the 
congregation  w-as  widely  scattered.  Here  for  twelve 
years  he  labored  with  might  and  valor.  He  succeeded 
a  prince  of  preachers.  Dr.  Charles  A.  Stork,  who  was 
a  man  of  remarkable  culture  and  literary  ability.  Dr. 
Stork  had  neither  the  inclination  nor  strength  to  per- 
form the  work  of  pastoral  visitation.  It  was  at  this 
time  that  Dr.  Albert  was  able  to  gratify  a  longing  for 
foreign  travel  which  had  been  aroused  and  stimulated 
by  his  historical  and  biographical  reading.  Dr.  Albert 
had  a  strong  strain  of  the  esthetic  in  his  nature.  Noble 
scenery  had  ahvays  had  charm  for  him,  and  his  reten- 
tive memory  fitted  him  to  enjoy  the  scenes  and  mem- 
ories of  the  old  world.  He  made  a  most  affable  and 
entertaining  traveling  companion.  Through  the  gener- 
osity of  a  member  of  St.  Mark's,  he  made  his  first  tour 
of  Western  Europe.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Home 
Mission  Board.  His  active  mind  and  wide  sympathies 
made  him  a  good  counselor  and  force  in  the  work  of 


20  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

placing  missionaries  in  the  home  land.  His  balanced 
judgment  and  conciliatory  spirit  made  him  the  recon- 
ciling center  of  divergent  ecclesiastical  views.  He  was 
President  of  the  General  Synod  from  1893  to  1895,  and 
President  of  the  Home  Mission  Board  for  eighteen 
years.  He  was  made  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Gettysburg. 
When  the  National  Home  for  the  Aged  of  the  General 
Synod  was  established,  he  became  a  director.  He  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Common  Service  Committee,  and 
wrought  with  great  satisfaction  to  form  a  historical 
Lutheran  service.  These  were  busy  years  in  his  life, 
and  they  took  their  toll  of  vitality  from  an  overworked 
physique.  He  still  found  time  to  do  general  reading 
and  some  technical  study  of  the  new,  scholarly  Biblical 
literature  which  had  appeared  since  his  seminary  days. 
That  an  impression  was  made  by  the  critical  writers 
of  the  English  and  German  schools  was  apparent  in 
his  conversation,  but  in  his  public  utterances  and  writ- 
ten articles  he  was  content  to  restate  and  illuminate 
with  his  catholic  spirit  the  conclusions  of  the  older 
school  of  writers  in  theology.  One  who  knew  him  in- 
timately and  sat  for  years  under  his  pulpit  ministra- 
tions in  St.  Mark's,  has  this  testimony  to  offer: 

"First.  In  the  pulpit  his  sermons  were  always  prac- 
tical and  never  beyond  the  depth  of  the  average  con- 
gregation, but.  nevertheless,  they  were  scholarly,  pol- 
ished and  carefully  prepared,  avoiding  all  tone  of  mere 
routine  talk  and  showing  throughout  an  excellent  com- 
mand of  English,  and  that  exact  choice  of  words  which 
indicates  a  student  of  the  classics.  His  manner  was 
very  earnest  and  free  from  any  affectation  whatever. 

"Secondly.  In  his  pastoral  work  he  was  kindly,  sym- 
pathetic and  gentle.  In  a  call  of  condolence  and  min- 
istration in  time  of  trouble  he  never  jarred  on  one,  and 
his  words  were  free  from  any  evidence  of  a  desire  to 
impress  his  own  personality,  but  came  from  a  sympa- 
thetic heart  and  left  a  pleasing  memory. 


LIFE  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT,  D.D.  21 

"Thirdly.  In  his  personal  relations  he  was  a  charm- 
ing conversationalist,  well  posted  on  current  events  and 
with  a  most  accurate  memory  of  all  experiences  in  his 
travels  and  of  the  contents  of  the  books  he  read. 
Rather  slow  and  deliberate  in  his  manner  of  speak- 
ing, he  was  ready  to  discuss  any  subject  that  seemed  to 
interest  his  companion,  and,  although  his  own  convic- 
tions were  clear  and  uncompromising,  he  nevertheless 
had  the  widest  tolerance  for  other  people's  views,  and 
even  when  the  difference  in  point  of  view  extended 
beyond  a  mere  question  of  orthodoxy  and  into  the  realm 
of  fundamental  conceptions  and  beliefs,  he  never  lost 
patience  or  failed  to  give  the  other  party  the  fullest 
credit  for  sincerity  and  an  absolute  right  to  that  point 
of  view.  He  was  not  a  man  of  detail,  and  his  wonder- 
ful memory  rendered  apparently  unnecessary  certain 
systematic  practices  which  other  clergymen  cannot  get 
along  without.  For  instance,  I  recall  that  after  he  left 
Baltimore,  the  writer  had  charge  of  St.  Mark's  Quar- 
terly, and  knowing  that  a  considerable  amount  of 
postage  had  been  saved  by  distributing  a  number  of 
copies  to  the  congregation  and  only  mailing  a  small 
number.  Dr.  Albert  was  communicated  with  and  asked 
for  his  mailing  list.  I  remember  his  reply  very  well. 
He  said,  'My  method  of  distributing  the  Quarterly  was 
sui  generis;  I  would  first  go  through  the  Sunday  school 
and  hand  copies  to  the  teachers  and  to  some  of  the 
children  to  take  to  their  parents,  then  at  the  close  of 
the  church  services  I  would  hand  copies  to  any  of  the 
congregation  whose  families  had  not  been  represented 
in  the  Sunday  school,  and  on  my  return  to  my  study, 
or  even  that  night,  I  would  mail  copies  to  those  who 
had  not  been  reached  in  church.'  Of  course,  the  kind 
of  memory  that  could  carry  that  plan  through  did  not 
exist  with  the  editor  pro  tern.  Similarly,  I  believe  he 
could  have  told  you  at  almost  any  time  whether  an  in- 
dividual in  his  congregation  had  been  to  communion  on 
the  last  occasion  or  not,  so  that  it  is  not  surprising  if 


22  LIFE    AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

he  sometimes  was  found  to  be  somewhat  beyond  the 
keeping  of  records  involving  close  clerical  work." 

He  delivered  one  of  the  Holman  Lectures  on  "The 
Augsburg  Confession,"  and  the  Baugher  Lecture  on 
"Christian  Worship"  at  Gettysburg.  Shortly  after  his 
Baltimore  residence  began  he  was  elected  President  of 
Pennsylvania  College,  but  felt  he  was  not  able  to  un- 
dertake the  great  task,  and  his  heart  was  in  the  pastor- 
ate with  its  close  human  touch  with  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  men. 

As  Editor 

In  1893  the  Lutheran  Publication  Board,  wishing  to 
create  the  office  of  Literary  Editor,  Dr.  Albert  was 
urged  to  give  up  the  active  pastorate  and  devote  his 
accumulated  skill  and  knowledge  to  the  work  of  pre- 
paring the  senior  grades  of  the  Sunday  school  Bible 
lessons.  This  appeal  was  at  first  rejected,  but  as  he 
thought  and  prayed  over  the  urgent  and  reiterated 
pleas  of  the  Board,  he  finally  consented  to  relinquish 
St.  Mark's  parish  and  go  to  Philadelphia  to  take  up 
a  work  for  which  he  was  particularly  well  fitted.  For 
twelve  years  he  had  given  brawn,  brain  and  heart  to 
the  arduous  Baltimore  work.  It  had  told  on  his  natur- 
ally good  constitution. 

The  change  to  a  less  strenuous  work,  no  doubt,  pro- 
longed his  life.  The  official  position  and  the  rather  me- 
chanical tasks  which  attend  upon  lesson  preparation, 
proof-reading  and  editorial  management  claimed  more 
and  more  of  his  time.  He  often  regretted  his  lack  of 
freedom.  There  is  a  price  every  man  must  pay  for 
officialdom  in  denominational  life.  He  is  no  longer  at 
intellectual  liberty  or  enjoys  freedom  of  action.  He 
stands  as  the  conservator  of  what  was  and  is.  and  must 
leave  to  other  men  the  adaptation  of  the  progressive 
scholarship  of  a  new  day  to  the  ancient  faith.  He 
was  treasurer  of  the  Editorial  Association  of  the  Inter- 
national Sundav  School  Lesson  Committee,  and  was  a 


LIFE  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT,  D.D.  23 

Strong  advocate  of  the  idea  of  international  lessons. 
His  policy  and  management  of  The  Augsurg  Teacher 
placed  it  in  the  forefront  of  teachers'  aids.  Its  circu- 
lation was  not  limited  to  our  General  Synod  Sunday 
schools.  The  hack-work  of  lesson  notes  he  accepted 
as  part  of  the  important  work  he  was  doing  as  editor, 
but  his  task  was  too  great  for  one  man  to  carry.  Al- 
ways willing  to  help  every  other  man  who  came  to  him 
requesting  his  services,  he  drew  heavily  upon  his  phys- 
ical vitality.  He  enjoyed,  during  the  Philadelphia  resi- 
dence, two  European  trips  in  company  with  old  friends. 
His  delightful  private  letters  and  instructive  articles 
from  abroad  appeared  in  various  publications,  and 
especially  in  Lutheran  Young  People,  of  which  he  was 
the  editor.  His  artistic  and  musical  ability  made  him  a 
competent  critic  of  European  art,  and  he  shared 
his  enjoyment  of  his  foreign  travel  not  only  with  the 
children  of  our  Sunday  schools  but  also  with  his 
numerous  friends.  Articles  typical  of  all  phases  of  his 
varied  interests  and  appreciation  make  up  the  body 
of  this  book.  He  transferred  his  church  membership 
to  St.  Matthew's  Church,  of  Philadelphia,  while  Rev. 
Dr.  William  M.  Baum  was  still  pastor.  He  cared  for 
the  pulpit  and  pastoral  work  for  three  months  after 
the  death  of  Dr.  Baum  and  before  Rev.  Dr.  Edwin 
Heyl  Delk  was  called  to  the  pastorate  in  1902.  He 
was  made  a  member  of  the  church  council  and  served 
most  acceptably.  No  pastor  could  have  had  a  more 
loyal  friend  than  Dr.  Albert.  For  years  he  had  been 
working,  unknown  to  himself,  but  to  a  few  in  his 
family,  with  a  weakened  heart.  But  his  ambitious 
generosity  and  sense  of  duty  kept  him  at  his  tasks. 
He  enjoyed  preaching.  For  many  years  he  had  writ- 
ten no  sermons,  but  prepared  them  at  odd  moments  on 
the  street  cars  or  in  the  slight  inten^als  of  rest  in  his 
home.  This  is  why  so  few  worthy  sermons  can  be 
found  for  this  collection  of  his  writings.  The  best 
have  disappeared.    Though  he  did  not  strive  to  prepare 


24  LIFE   AND   WORKS  OF   CHARLES   S.   ALBERT 

great  sermons,  his  pulpit  work  had  a  directness  and 
charm  due  to  his  manner,  temper  and  personaHty 
which  made  them  great  in  effect. 

Dr.  Albert  had  the  intellectual  and  moral  equipment 
to  have  made  him  a  forceful  leader  in  the  theological 
thought  of  our  age,  but  whether  it  was  due  to  his  offi- 
cial position  or  his  temperament  or  disinclination,  he 
was  content  to  state  his  view  and  let  affairs  take  their 
course.  When,  however,  some  important  principle 
or  privilege  was  at  stake,  he  took  his  defensive  posi- 
tion and  held  it  firmly.  Dr.  Albert,  if  one  dare  to  put 
a  theological  tag  upon  such  an  eminently  religious 
nature,  was  a  conservative  General  Synod  man.  If  I 
should  attempt  to  summarize  his  life-attitude,  I  would 
say  it  was  one  of  service  for  Christ's  sake.  I  never 
knew  him  to  refuse  a  service  to  the  Church  or  an  in- 
dividual if  he  could  possibly  perform  it.  All  his  time 
was  consecrated.  His  occasional  afternoons  off  at 
the  League  ball-ground,  the  mountain  walk,  the  hour 
with  some  bit  of  fiction,  were  but  preparation  for  the 
waiting  task  upon  his  desk.  Steady,  generous,  beauti- 
ful service  in  many  ways  was  the  outstanding  charac- 
teristic of  his  life. 

The  secret  of  his  work  was  a  deep  and  intimate 
communion  with  and  love  for  his  Lord.  As  his  inner 
life  was  revealed,  the  profound  reverence,  the  mysti- 
cal union  with  Christ  he  enjoyed  stood  forth  in  beauti- 
ful simplicity.  Those  who  heard  his  public  prayers 
will  confirm  this  fine  note  in  his  spiritual  life.  As  he 
would  humbly  kneel  within  the  chancel  rail,  after  as- 
sisting in  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion,  his 
act  seemed  to  bring  still  closer  the  risen  Christ.  If  a 
man  was  united  in  a  living,  obvious  communion  with 
Jesus  Christ  as  divine  Saviour  and  King,  then  a  differ- 
ence of  theological  interpretation  in  other  matters  did 
not  vex  or  estrange  him.  This  was  made  patent  in 
the  choice  clerical  club,  Phi-Alpha,  to  which  he  be- 
longed.   Because  he  was  so  sure  of  his  own  convictions 


LIFE  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT,  D.D.  25 

and  faith,  he  was  genuinely  tolerant  of  the  convictions 
and  faith  of  other  men.  Indeed,  in  the  last  analysis, 
it  is  neither  traditional  orthodoxy  nor  a  radical  pro- 
gressiveism,  but  a  life  constrained  by  the  love  of  Jesus 
Christ  which  makes  a  minister  a  power  for  righteous- 
ness. Dr.  Albert's  tolerant  spirit,  his  pacific  temper 
and  commanding  poise  were  based  on  a  Christlike  love 
and  likeness  to  his  Master.  His  wide  and  critical 
reading  may  have  aided  him  in  this  catholic  vision 
of  dogma,  but,  after  all,  it  was  his  freedom  from  van- 
ity and  self-will  and  his  vital  relation  to  God  that  gave 
him  that  self-mastery  and  graciovis  address  which  will 
linger  forever  in  our  minds  and  hearts. 

The  close  of  his  earthly  career  came  quickly.  He 
was  confined  to  the  house  only  three  weeks.  On  Sun- 
day afternoon,  January  28,  1912,  at  three  o'clock,  when 
all  over  the  United  States  the  teachers  and  scholars  of 
thousands  of  Lutheran  Sunday  schools  were  study- 
ing the  Bible  lessons  prepared  by  him,  his  spirit  took 
its  flight  into  the  bosom  of  the  Great  Teacher,  Jesus 
Christ.  The  "Golden  Text"  for  that  Sunday's  lesson 
was,  "Now  lettest  Thou  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace, 
for  mine  eyes  have  seen  Thy  salvation  which  Thou 
hast  prepared  before  all  people,  a  light  to  lighten  the 
Gentiles  and  the  glory  of  Thy  people  Israel." 

As  son,  as  brother,  as  friend,  as  pastor,  as  church- 
man, and  as  husband  and  father,  his  life  was  one  long 
shining  pathway  of  light  and  honor  and  love.  Other 
ages  would  have  raised  him  to  sainthood,  but  he 
walked  and  stood  so  close  to  us  as  a  human  helper  and 
aspiring  disciple  that  our  rough  hands  must  leave  to 
God  Himself  the  giving  of  that  final,  rightful  crown 
which  awaits  those  who  serve  and  honor  Him.  At 
the  funeral  services,  held  in  his  once  happy  home  in 
West  Philadelphia,  representatives  of  many  Boards 
and  the  several  churches  with  which  he  had  been  con- 
nected gathered  to  express  their  sympathy  with  the 
bereaved  family  and  honor  for  the  departed  friend. 


26  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

The  hushed  voices,  the  quiet  tears,  the  floral  tributes, 
the  words  of  admiration  and  eulogy  were  tokens  of 
the  love  and  honor  brought  to  him  whose  body  lay 
so  white  and  still  in  his  flower-decked  casket.  It  was 
Dr.  Albert's  request  that  only  a  simple  and  brief  serv- 
ice be  held  at  his  funeral  and  that  in  his  own  home. 
Dr.  Dunbar  and  Dr.  Delk  made  short  addresses.  We 
carried  his  body,  on  Wednesday  morning,  to  his  old 
home  in  Lancaster,  Pa.,  and  laid  it  to  rest  beside  the 
boy  who  had  gone  before ;  but  his  spirit  is  still  abroad 
upon  the  earth,  his  memory  enshrined  in  our  hearts, 
and  his  soul  awaits  the  new  tasks  that  never  tire  in 
the  heavenly  home — for  to  serve  Christ  will  ever  be 
his  heart's  joy. 

Philadelphia,  July,  1915- 


II 

SERMONS  AND  PAPERS 


FUNDAMENTAL     PRINCIPLES     OF     CHRIS- 
TIAN  WORSHIP* 

Worship  is  characteristic  of  humanity.  Wherever 
man  is  found,  he  is  a  worshiper.  This  worship  in  its 
purity  and  truth,  varies  with  his  conceptions  of  his 
relations  with  the  superhuman  and  mysterious  powers 
on  which  he  beheves  himself  to  depend.  Worship  is  a 
necessity  of  his  nature.  There  is  a  worship  of  man 
which  illustrates  the  divine  worship.  Wherever  and 
whenever  man  meets  another  nobler  and  stronger 
than  himself,  he  naturally  reverences  the  superior.  It 
is  the  source  of  hero  worship.  Divine  worship  arises 
instinctively  whenever  man  conceives  himself  to  be  in 
relation  to  superhuman  and  mysterious  powers  on 
which  he  believes  himself  to  depend. 

It  was  at  one  time  supposed  that  there  were  savages 
so  degraded  as  to  be  without  religion  and  worship.  A 
more  accurate  knowledge  and  a  more  familiar  acquaint- 
ance disclose  the  rudiments  of  both.  The  "Black  Fel- 
lows," of  Australia  were  supposed  to  be  without  re- 
ligion and  worship.  After  their  confidence  was  won 
by  a  friendly  Englishman,  they  gave  a  statement  of 
their  belief,  which  they  had  hitherto  concealed  from 
the  white  man  for  politic  reasons.  Worship  and  re- 
ligion are  correlated.  The  essence  of  religion  will  be 
the  essence  of  worship.  The  profounder  the  religion, 
the  profounder  will  be  the  worship.  In  worship  re- 
ligion finds  fittest  expression,  for  the  inward  faith 
must  express  itself  in  outward  act,  and  the  highest  of 
all  religious  acts  will  be  the  worship  of  God ;  and  it  is 
this  which  God  Himself  desires,  even  as  Jesus  said, 


*  Lecture   on   the   Baugher   Foundation,    delivered   June   7, 
1893,  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  Gettysburg,  Pa. 

29 


30  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

"The  Father  seeketh  such  to  worship  Him."     (John 

4:23.) 

We  are  confronted  to-day  by  two  theories  of  re- 
Hgion.  The  one  is  the  theory  of  evolution,  the  other 
of  revelation.  The  former  divides  into  two  schools. 
The  one  claims  the  emotions  as  the  source  of  religion, 
the  other  the  reason.  "According  to  the  one  view  man 
instinctively  attempted  to  put  himself  into  relations 
with  the  superhuman  influences  by  which  he  felt  him- 
self surrounded,  and  it  was  only  subsequently  that  he 
thought  of  defining  them.  No  one  in  our  day  has 
formulated  this  thesis  with  more  eloquence  than  M. 
Renan,  who  compares  man's  religious  impulses  to  the 
instinct  that  makes  the  hen-bird  'sit,'  which  instinct 
spontaneously  declares  itself  as  soon  as  the  appropriate 
stage  is  reached. 

"Others,  on  the  contrary,  maintain  that  before  wor- 
shiping his  gods,  man  must  have  had  some  conception 
of  their  nature,  and  that  the  sentiments  he  entertains 
toward  them  must  of  necessity  flow  from  the  ideas 
he  has  formed  of  their  character  and  workings."* 

It  is  evident  that  whether  we  take  the  one  stand- 
point, or  the  other,  or  combine  them,  religion  is  alto- 
gether subjective,  dependent  upon  man  and  his  thought. 
There  is  and  can  be  no  certainty  of  God,  for  the  devel- 
opment of  religion  proceeds  in  the  same  manner  as  it 
began.  Man  creates  his  god  and  creates  his  worship. 
God  does  not  reveal  Himself  that  He  may  be  truly 
known  and  truly  worshiped. 

The  other  theory  is  the  theory  of  the  Scriptures,  of 
revelation,  God  made  man  in  His  own  image,  entered 
into  communion  with  him,  so  that  man  originally 
possessed  a  partial  but  true  knowledge  of  God  and 
His  will.  This  relation  was  broken  by  sin,  but  was  not 
altogether  destroyed.  Man,  though  fallen,  has  re- 
tained some  knowledge  of  God  and  His  will.     God 


*  Hibbert  Lectures.  D'Alviella. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  31 

is  not  even  known  by  the  natural  man  objectively,  but 
subjectively.  Objective  knowledge  of  God  comes  to 
man  through  revelation. 

\\'orship  ha?  been  similarly  affected  with  religion. 
It  was  pure  and  true  before  the  fall.  It  was  perverted 
through  sin.  It  became  subjective,  resting  upon  the 
conceptions  and  reasonings  of  men.  "They  sought  the 
Lord,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  Him,  and  find 
Him."  (Acts  17  :  27.)  There  were  no  divine  channels 
ordained  of  God  by  which  man  might  approach  Him 
or  receive  His  gifts.  God,  indeed,  graciously  accepted 
their  adoration  and  prayer  and  service  and  gave  them 
blessing,  but  they  were  in  the  shadow  of  darkness 
waiting  for  light.  Yet  let  it  be  remembered  that  they 
that  use  imperfect  means  faithfully  may  be  more  ac- 
ceptable than  those  who  formally  use  the  revelation  of 
His  will  and  the  means  of  grace. 

"There  is  in  the  Mennevi  Sherif  of  Jelahi-d'-Din,  the 
illustrious  saint  and  doctor  of  Islam,  a  striking  and 
pathetic  story  in  which  this  great  lesson  is  powerfully 
inculcated.  Moses,  we  read,  in  his  wanderings  in  the 
wilderness  came  upon  a  shepherd,  who  was  praying 
to  God  in  the  fervor  of  his  soul,  and  saying,  'Oh,  my 
Master,  my  Lord,  would  that  I  knew  w^here  I  might 
find  Thee,  and  become  Thy  servant.  Would  that  I 
might  tie  Thy  shoe  latchet,  and  comb  Thy  hair,  and 
wash  Thy  robes,  and  kiss  Thy  beautiful  feet,  and  sweep 
Thy  chamber,  and  serve  the  milk  of  my  goats  to  Thee, 
for  whom  my  heart  crieth  out.'  And  the  anger  of 
Moses  w^as  kindled,  and  he  said  to  the  shepherd,  'Thou 
blasphemest.  The  Most  High  has  no  body  and  no  need 
of  nourishment,  nor  of  a  chamber,  nor  of  a  domestic : 
Thou  art  an  infidel.'  And  the  heart  of  the  shepherd 
was  darkened,  for  he  could  make  to  himself  no  image 
of  one  without  bodily  form  and  corporal  wants,  and 
he  gave  himself  up  to  despair  and  ceased  to  serve  God. 
And  God  spake  unto  Moses,  and  said,  'Why  hast  thou 
driven  my  servant  away  from  me?     Every  man  has 


32  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

received  from  me  his  mode  of  being,  his  way  of  speech. 
What  is  evil  to  thee  is  good  in  another.  What  is 
poison  to  thee  is  honey  to  him.  Words  are  nothing  to 
me.  I  regard  the  heart.  The  compass  serves  only  to 
direct  those  without  the  Kebeh,  within  no  one  knows 
the  use  of  it.'  "  God  deals  in  love  with  all  men  and 
judges  them  by  their  opportunity  and  their  spirit.* 

True  worship  in  the  Christian  sense  is  communion 
between  God  and  those  who  worship  Him.  It  is  not 
merely  communion  of  man  with  God  in  praise  and 
prayer,  but  of  communion  of  God  with  man.  It  is 
fully  established  by  the  Mediator  Christ  Jesus,  through 
whom  God  is  reconciled  to  man  and  man  is  reconciled 
to  God.  By  Him  sin  is  forgiven,  sonship  restored  and 
the  joy  of  fellowship  given.  Whilst  men  approach 
God  in  His  name,  in  praise  and  prayer,  so  also  His 
word  and  sacraments  are  the  divine  channels  by  which 
God  can  confer  His  grace  upon  men.  Worship  is  thus 
both  objective  and  subjective. 

The  worship  of  Judaism  was  true  and  real  because 
God  constituted  it  and  He  took  part  in  it,  but  it  was 
preparatory.  Around  it  were  the  national  limitations, 
the  exclusiveness  of  set  laws  for  a  particular  period. 
It  was,  indeed,  a  true  communion  of  the  only  true  God 
with  men  and  of  men  with  God  and  a  communion  of 
men  with  each  other  in  this  fellowship,  but  it  was 
partial  and  temporary,  shadow  more  than  substance, 
much  of  its  service  being  typical  looking  forward  to 
its  fulfillment  in  the  complete  redemption  and  revela- 
tion of  Christ  Jesus. 

Christ  is  both  the  founder  of  the  Christian  Church 
and  also  of  its  worship.  He  is  not  a  new  lawgiver, 
however,  or  a  prescriber  of  ceremonials,  through  the 
observance  of  which  men  can  alone  participate  in  sal- 
vation. He  has  given  the  essentials  of  worship,  out  of 
which  the  Church  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy 


*  "On  Right  and  Wrong,"  Lilly. 


SERMONS  AND   PAPERS  3>3 

Spirii  develops  its  forms.  Christianity,  restoring 
through  Jesus  Christ  the  communion  of  God  and  man, 
accompHshes  this  by  the  heart  and  Hfe  fellowship  of 
believers  with  their  Saviour  and  through  Him  with 
God.  It  is  essentially  spiritual,  and,  therefore,  its  wor- 
ship in  its  innermost  essence  is  spiritual.  It  is  in  the 
heart  and  from  the  heart.  (3ur  Lord  has  strictly  de- 
fined worship  as  spiritual:  "God  is  a  spirit,  and  they 
that  worship  Him  must  worship  Him  in  .spirit  and 
truth."     (John  4  :  24.) 

Spirituality  is  therefore  fundamental,  but  the  ques- 
tion remains  how  shall  this  spirituality  manifest  itself? 
It  has  been  held  that  spirituality  needs  no  outward  and 
visible  forms,  that  these  detract  from  it  and  material- 
ize it.  Or  that  there  should  be  no  fixed  forms,  that 
liturgical  worship  tends  to  formalism  and  spiritual 
deadness.  It  is  rather  remarkable  that  the  example 
of  our  Saviour  should  be  so  ignored.  The  details  of 
the  last  Passover  indicate  that  He  observed  the  ritual 
of  the  Jews,  to  the  minute  observances  then  in  use. 
The  hymn  (Mark  14  :  26)  was  most  probably  the 
second  portion  of  the  Hallel.*  He  thus  indicates  that 
when  He  spoke  of  spiritual  worship,  he  did  not  mean 
that  spirituality  should  be  without  form,  but  that  it 
should  guide  us  in  the  use  of  form. 

The  view  that  spirituality  and  fixed  form  are  op- 
posed is  "the  view  of  a  false  spiritualism  which  ignores 
the  nature  and  the  multiplied  needs  of  the  religious 
life.  We  are  never  so  spiritual  as  to  live  out  of  the 
body.  The  more  refined  the  mind  is  the  more  refined 
will  be  a  man's  conversation,  but  the  mind  does  not 
so  refine  that  words  become  too  gross  a  medium  for 
it."  Max  Miiller  insists  that  there  is  no  thought  with- 
out language.  Paul  declares,  "With  the  heart  man 
believeth  unto  righteousness;  but  with  the  lips  con- 
fession is  made  unto  salvation,"  the  audible  and  out- 


*  Edersheim,  "Life  of  Christ,"  Vol.  II,  533. 
3 


34  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

ward  completing  the  inward.  "To  be  absolved  from 
bondage  to  the  bodily  is  not  to  forego  the  uses  of  the 
body  which  God  has  ordained.  The  visible  and  audible 
are  not  antagonistic  to  the  spiritual,  but  its  genuine 
organs  and  the  last  condition  of  perfected  man  is  that 
in  which  the  glorified  body  is  to  be  the  instrument  of 
the  soul. 

The  more  spiritual  the  soul  of  religion  is  the  more 
glorious  and  heavenly,  but  not  the  less  real  is  the  body 
with  which  it  is  invested,  for  that  soul  also  desires  not 
to  be  unclothed  but  clothed  upon.  Inasmuch  as  re- 
ligion is  neither  a  mere  matter  of  the  intellect  nor  of 
external  acts,  but  a  thing  of  the  whole  inner  man,  and 
has  its  deepest  seat  in  the  emotions  of  the  heart,  cultus 
cannot  exclusively  nor  primarily  consist  in  instruc- 
tions nor  in  exhortation  to  duty,  but  it  must  aim  at 
reaching  the  inmost  life  of  man.  .Worship  though 
without  the  form  of  instruction  is  profound  in  instruc- 
tion. In  nothing  which  we  find  in  the  house  of  God 
are  we  so  dependent  on  the  house  of  God  as  in  wor- 
ship. We  can  measurably  find  in  our  homes  what  the 
sermon  supplies,  but  to  lose  the  worship  is  to  sustain 
what  is  humanly  an  irreparable  loss.  Whilst  worship 
calls  forth  the  religious  emotions,  or  helps  them  to 
give  themselves  expression,  it  will  of  itself  react  upon 
the  religious  thought  and  upon  the  moral  sentiments, 
and  thus  with  the  religious  esthetic  aim,  it  also  fulfills 
the  moral  aim.  So  far  as  the  church  is  a  place  of 
worship  we  do  not  go  there  to  learn  new  things  or 
even  old  ones.  We  worship  best  when  all  the  forms 
are  stamped  upon  the  memory.  Nevertheless  in  that 
deepest  and  rarest  instruction  which  writes  upon  the 
heart  what  men  have  been  vainly  imagining  they 
knew  because  they  could  repeat  its  phrase,  cultus 
teaches."* 

We  must  not  be  led  astray  by  the  phrase  simplicity 


*Krauth,  "MS.  Lectures  on  Worship." 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  35 

in  worship,  as  though  simphcity  were  spirituahty.  As 
Dr.  Rowland  justly  says:  "It  deserves  also  to  be  said 
just  here,  that  what  is  called  simplicity  in  worship  is 
oftentimes  only  another  name  for  the  grossest  irrev- 
erence and  slovenliness.  Time-honored  customs  and 
prejudices  are  frequently  covers  for  ignorance,  rude- 
ness or  parsimony.  The  plea  of  a  severe  spirituality 
enables  men  ofttimes  to  treat  God  with  a  discourtesy 
which  would  not  be  allowed  in  human  society.  'Wor- 
ship,' says  Dr.  Allon,  'has  its  beauty  as  well  as  its  holi- 
ness, and  we  must  not  make  it  repulsive  under  the 
pretence  of  making  it  devout.  What  special  spirit- 
uality can  there  be  in  the  pious  doggerel  of  hymns,  or 
the  ruder  incongniity  of  tunes?  Why  should  it  be 
necessary  to  abjure  all  culture  and  excoriate  all  taste 
in  order  that  piety  may  have  its  supreme  enjoyment? 
No  genuine  piety  can  excuse  negligence.  Everything 
pertaining  to  worship  should  surely  indicate  a  rever- 
ent solicitude  to  bring  to  God  the  best  we  can  proffer — 
an  offering  perfect  in  every  appliance  that  can  give 
emphasis  to  its  adoration,  itensify  its  rapture  or  beau- 
tify its  love.'  'Excess  of  material  circumstance  in 
spiritual  worship,  whether  of  architectural  ornament, 
ritual  ceremony,  musical  elaborateness,  or  even  intel- 
lectual fastidiousness,  is  as  injurious  to  it  as  is  over- 
cumbrous  machinery  in  manufactories,  excess  of  cere- 
monial in  social  life,  superfluous  raiment  to  personal 
activity,  or  gaudy  ornamentation  to  personal  grace. 
But  equally  so,  on  the  other  hand,  is  perniciousness 
and  nakedness.  If  we  may  not  overlay  spiritual  life, 
neither  may  we  denude  it.'  "* 

That  which  must  regulate  worship  founded  on 
Scripture  is  edification.  This  is,  after  all,  the  test. 
That  which  tends  to  build  up  the  religious  life  with 
God  and  man  best,  this  will  be  the  best  and  highest 
form  of  worship.    Whether  it  have  much  or  little  form 


*  Rowland,  "The  Worship  of  the  Church,"  Bapt.  Rev.,  li 


36  LIFE    AND    WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

it  will  foster  spirituality.  Here  is  the  sphere  of  Chris- 
tian liberty,  a  liberty  which  is  not  license ;  rather  the 
liberty  conforming-  itself  to  the  great  thought  of  wor- 
ship— communion  with  the  Lord  and  communion  of 
His  members  with  each  other  to  edification. 

Christian  worship  was  founded  by  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.     He  gave  the  following  elements : 

1.  Assembly  in  His  name.     (Matt.  i8  :20.) 

2.  Prayer  in  His  name.     (John  i6  :  23,  24.) 

3.  Cx)mmon  prayer.     (Matt.  18  :  19.) 

4.  A  form  of  prayer.    (Matt.  6  :9-i3.) 

5.  The  Holy  Supper  was  instituted  and  its  observ- 
ance commanded.    (Matt.  26.) 

6.  The  ofiFice  of  the  ministry  of  teaching  the  gospel 
and  administering  the  sacraments  was  established. 
(Matt.  28  :  18;  18  :  18;  Luke  24  :  47,  48;  John  15  : 
27;  20  :  21-23.) 

7.  The  use  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  was  enjoined. 
(John  5  :  39;  8  :  31  ;  Luke  16  :  31 ;  Matt.  4  : 4-10.)* 

He  did  not  give  Christian  worship  in  completeness, 
but  estabilishing  these  primal  features  permitted  it  to 
be  developed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  the  Church. 
The  Church  of  Christ  is  divine,  and.  therefore,  it  has  a 
divine  growth.  There  can  be  no  question  but  that  tb.e 
worship  of  the  early  Christians  was  at  the  first  largely 
influenced  by  the  worship  of  the  synagogue,  and,  to 
a  certain  extent,  modeled  after  it.  It  differed,  how- 
ever, both  in  principle  and  import,  and  had  from  the 
beginning  new  features.  These  marked  differences 
are  noted  in  Acts  2  :  42.  where  it  is  said,  "They  con- 
tinued stedfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine  and  fellow- 
ship, and  in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers." 

Under  the  leadership  of  the  apostles  there  was  grad- 
ual development  of  public  worship.  Dr.  Schaff 
enumerates  the  following  parts  of  public  service  under 
the  apostles  : 

*  Consult  Horn's  "Handbook  of  Liturgies."  Harnack  in 
"Theolosrischen  Wissenschaften." 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  37 

1.  "The  preaching  of  the  gospel.  This  was  mis- 
sionary in  its  character." 

2.  "The  reading  of  Scripture  with  practical  expo- 
sition and  application.  The  lessons  were  from  the  Old 
Testament  (Parashioth  and  Hephtaroth)  transferred 
from  the  synagogue:  later  from  the  gospels  and  epis- 
tles, the  latter  sometimes  serving  as  sermons." 

3.  "Prayer  in  various  forms  of  petition,  interces- 
sion and  thanksgiving  (i  Tim.  2:1),  likewise  de- 
scended from  Judaism.  Prayer  was  made  freely  from 
the  heart  as  they  were  moved  by  the  spirit  according 
to  circumstances.  There  is  no  trace  of  a  uniform  and 
exclusive  liturgy."  Still  he  adds,  "The  frequent  use 
of  psalms  and  short  forms  of  devotion,  as  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  may  be  inferred  with  certainty  from  the  Jew- 
ish custom,  from  the  Lord's  direction  concerning  His 
model  prayer,  from  the  strong  fellowship  among  the 
first  Christians,  and,  finally,  from  the  liturgical  spirit 
of  the  ancients,  which  could  not  have  so  generally  pre- 
vailed both  in  the  east  and  the  west  without  some 
apostolic  or  post-apostolic  precedent." 

4.  "The  song,  a  form  of  prayer  in  the  festive  dress 
of  poetry  and  the  elevated  language  of  inspiration. 
The  I^rd  Himself  inaugurated  psalmody  into  the  new 
covenant  at  the  institution  of  the  Holy  Supper,  and 
St.  Paul  enjoins  the  singing  of  'psalms  and  hymns  and 
spiritual  songs.'  But  to  this  precious  inheritance  from 
the  past,  the  Church  in  the  enthusiasm  of  her  first  love, 
added  original,  specifically  Christian  psalms,  hymns, 
doxologies  and  benedictions  which  afforded  the  richest 
material  for  sacred  poetry  and  music  in  succeeding 
centuries ;  the  song  of  the  heavenly  host,  for  example, 
at  the  birth  of  the  Saviour :  the  'Nunc  Dimittis,  of 
Simeon  ;  the  'Magnificat'  of  the  Virgin ;  the  'Benedic- 
tus'  of  Zacharias;  the  thanksgiving  of  Peter  at  his  de- 
liverance; the  fragments  of  hymns  scattered  through 
the  Epistles,  and  the  lyrical  and  liturgical  passages, 
the  doxologies  and  antiphones  of  the  Apocalypse." 


38  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

5.  "Confession  of  Faith.  The  first  express  confes- 
sion of  faith  is  the  testimony  of  Peter  that  'Jesus  was 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Hving  God.'  The  next  is 
the  trinitarian  baptismal  formula,  out  of  this  gradually 
grew  the  so-called  Apostolic  Creed." 

6.  "Finally  the  administration  of  the  sacraments." 
As  we  descend  to  the  age  which  immediately  suc- 
ceeded the  apostles,  we  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that  there  were  fixed  forms  of  worship.  Time  will 
not  permit  us  to  quote  the  evidence  drawn  from  the 
Didache,  or  the  Teaching  of  the  Tweve  Apostles, 
from  Ignatius,  Justyn  Martyr,  Irenseus,  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  Tertullian,  Origen,  the  Apostolic  Consti- 
tutions, the  Ancient  Liturgies,  all  indicating  fixed 
forms  of  service  and  participation  in  worship  by  the 
people.  There  is  a  liturgy  of  the  Apostolic  and  Early 
Church  simple,  but  ample  and  sufficient.  It  has  been 
contended  with  great  strength  that  the  best  form  of 
service  is  that  of  the  second  or  third  century,  when 
the  Church  in  her  freedom,  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  had  developed  the  elements  of  worship 
left  by  Christ  Himself.* 

After  this  period  worship  was  unduly  elaborated. 
False  views  concerning  the  priesthood  and  sacrifice 
expressed  themselves  in  the  service,  worship  was  con- 
sidered more  and  more  as  meritorious,  a  work  of  man 
before  God,  which  man  offering  to  God  thereby  secured 
His  favor. 

Ceremonial  and  pomp  intruded  themselves,  worship 
appealed  to  the  senses  and  not  to  the  intelligence  and 
heart.  The  sermon  dropped  out,  the  selections  of 
Scripture  were  in  an  unknown  tongue,  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per administered  by  a  divine  order,  the  priesthood, 
became  a  propitiatory  sacrifice.f 


*  See  Stapfer's  "Life  in  Palestine." 

t  Schoeberlein.     Ueber    den    liturgischen    Ausbau    des    Ge- 
meinde  gottesdienstes. — Hofling,  Liturgisches   Urkundenbiich. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  39 

The  Reformation,  both  Reformed  and  Lutheran, 
necessarily  dealt  with  this  perversion  of  worship.  At 
first  the  Reformed  Churches  retained  a  portion  of  the 
old  order,  and  were  decidedly  liturgical. 

But  the  Puritan,  in  his  indignation  against  the  abuses 
which  had  crept  into  public  worship,  threw  out  with 
the  errors  the  treasures  of  the  past.  Fanatically  he 
relinquished  part  after  part  of  the  service  till  little 
was  left  but  prayer  and  exhortation.  "He  showed  the 
reach  of  his  self-denial  in  respect  to  worship  by  put- 
ting away  the  public  reading  of  the  Scriptures  as  he 
showed  the  pathos  of  his  self-denials  by  the  burial  of 
his  dead  in  silence — his  protest  against  the  burial  serv- 
ice of  the  Established  Church." 

It  was  remarkable  how  far  this  was  carried.  How 
beautiful  is  this  collect :  "Lord  of  all  power  and  might, 
who  art  the  author  and  giver  of  all  good  things :  Graft 
in  our  hearts  the  love  of  Thy  name,  increase  in  us  true 
religion,  nourish  us  with  all  goodness,  and  of  Thy 
great  mercy  keep  us  in  the  same ;  through  Jesus 
Christ."  It  was  this  which  provoked  Jenny  Geddes 
to  cast  her  stool  at  the  Dean  of  Edinburgh's  head ;  she 
intelligently  regarding  these  precious  words  as  popish. 
Her  words  are  historical :  'The  Diel  colic  thee  in  thy 
wame  !  Dost  thou  say  mass  at  my  lug?"  The  intensity 
of  religious  conviction  and  abhorence  of  papistic  evils 
enabled  the  Puritans  to  endure  a  worship  that  was 
shorn  of  all  connection  with  the  historical  past.  His 
descendants  impressed  that  baldness  of  service  on  this 
land  of  ours  and  their  ideas  still  control  multitudes 
and  even  members  of  churches  with  a  past  of  richer 
worship.  It  is  hard,  however,  to  be  told  that  fixed 
forms  of  service  are  unspiritual  because  of  this  repug- 
nance when  the  post-apostolic  Church  and  all  the 
Church  in  all  ages  has  worshiped  God  under  fixed 
forms.  There  is  true  worship,  it  may  be  justly  con- 
ceded, without  a  fixed  form  of  service,  but  in  fact  the 
elements  of  a  liturgy  are  in  every  church.    The  baldest 


40  LIFE   AND    WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

service  may  have  its  fixed  form,  ofttimes  as  harassing 
to  the  soul  as  iron  fetters  upon  the  Hmbs.  It  often  re- 
duces itself  to  hymn,  prayer,  reading  of  the  Scriptures, 
the  sermon  and  the  benediction.  The  hymns  are  fixed 
and  not  infrequently  poor  and  egotistic,  man  more 
than  God  the  center;  a  light,  frivolous  ditty  displaces 
devout  and  majestic  music;  the  prayers  are  formal  to 
such  an  extent  that  after  hearing  a  minister  a  number 
of  times,  it  is  easy  to  know  his  method  and  the  se- 
quence of  his  petitions.  So  meager  and  weak  oft- 
times  are  the  petitions  that  the  soul  of  the  worshiping 
believer  does  not  find  them  the  upbearing  wings  to 
bear  it  reverently  in  adoration  and  supplication  to  the 
throne  of  God.  The  human  and  the  earthly  conceal 
the  divine  and  the  heavenly. 

The  Scripture  lessons  and  the  sermons  are  intensely 
individualistic,  the  minister  apparently  oblivious  to  the 
fact  that  he  is  set  apart  from  the  congregation  to  con- 
duct its  worship  and  to  bring  to  them  the  fullness  of 
the  gospel. 

There  are  fixed  forms  which  become  formalistic  by 
the  method  of  use,  but  formalism  is  as  easy  to  what 
is  called  the  simple  gospel  as  to  the  fixed  service.  That 
which  tests  both  is  edification,  the  building  up  in  faith 
and  life  of  the  congregation. 

Dr.  Rowland,  of  the  Baptists,  wisely  says:  "For 
both  individuals  and  churches  there  is  but  one  valid 
law;  namely,  that  as  far  as  practicable  each  shall  em- 
body its  own  worship  in  such  modes  and  forms  as  are 
best  adapted  to  its  own  life.  Of  worship  itself  there 
is  but  one  great  use  and  end,  that  it  brings  a  brother- 
hood of  men  to  the  feet  and  heart  of  the  Great  Father 
in  heaven,  there  to  speak  to  the  eager  sympathy  of 
His  love  all  their  adoration  and  all  their  desire." 

The  Lutheran  Church  would  not  cast  away  the  treas- 
ures of  the  past.  It  purifies  the  service,  Luther  de- 
claring that  the  old  service  must  be  the  basis  of  the 
new.    He  retained  all  that  was  directly  from  the  word 


SERMONS  AND   PAPERS  41 

of  God.  He  retained  those  portions  which  breathed 
the  spirit  of  God's  word,  as  the  Gloria  Patri,  the  Gloria 
in  Excelsis.  the  creeds  and  the  like.  He  rejected  what- 
ever was  not  in  acordance  with  God's  word.  Agree- 
ment with  the  Scriptures  and  edification  were  the  tests 
applied.  The  Lutheran  Church  purified  the  service 
even  as  it  had  reformed  the  teachings  of  the  Church, 
preserving  truth,  eliminating  errors. 

The  Lutheran  Church  teaches  that  there  are  two 
factors  in  public  worship,  the  divine  factor,  the  human 
factor. 

Worship  is  two-sided,  that  which  men  bring  to  God. 
and  that  which  God  imparts  to  men.  Melanchthon,  in 
the  Apology,  253,  says:  "Theologians  are  rightly  ac- 
customed to  distinguish  between  sacrament  and  sac- 
rifice. A  sacrament  is  a  ceremony  of  work  in  which 
God  imparts  to  us  (nobis  exhibit)  that  thing  which 
the  promise  annexed  to  the  ceremony  offers  (offert). 
As,  for  example,  baptism  is  a  work  in  w-hich  we  do  not 
offer  to  God,  but  in  which  God  baptizes  us,  to  wit,  the 
minister  in  God's  place  (vice  dei)  and  God  offers 
(offert)  and  imparts  (exhibits)  remission  of  sins,  ac- 
cording to  the  promise  he  that  believeth  and  is  bap- 
tized is  saved.  On  the  contrary,  a  sacrifice  is  a  cere- 
mony or  work  which  we  render  to  God  that  we  may 
give  Him  honor.  The  direct  species  of  sacrifice  are 
two  only.  The  first  is  propitiatory  sacrifice,  that  is  a 
work  with  which  satisfaction  is  made  for  sin  and 
penalty,  meriting  for  others  the  remission  of  sins ; 
the  other  species  is  the  eucharistic  sacrifice  which  does 
not  merit  remission  of  sins  or  reconciliation,  but  is 
offered  by  those  who  are  reconciled,  so  that  we  render 
thanks  for  the  remission  of  sins  and  other  benefits  re- 
ceived. In  very  deed  there  has  been  but  one  propi- 
tiatory sacrifice  in  the  world,  to  wit :  The  death  of 
Christ.  The  rest  are  eucharistic  sacrifices  which  are 
called  sacrifices  of  praise,  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
faith,  invocation,  giving  of  thanks,  confession,  afflic- 


42  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

tions  of  the  saints,  nay,  all  the  good  works  of  the 
saints." 

Out  of  this  has  come  in  the  treatment  of  public  wor- 
ship the  designations  of  sacramental  and  sacrificial 
elements,  meaning  thereby  that  the  sacramental  ele- 
ment is  that  portion  of  worship  where  God  offers 
through  the  word  and  the  sacraments  the  blessings  of 
salvation,  that  the  sacrificial  element  is  that  portion  of 
worship  where  man  offers  something  to  God,  in  prayer 
and  praise.  Only  as  these  two  elements  reciprocally 
appear  have  we  the  truest  worship. 

Some  have  objected  to  these  terms,  but  none  have 
been  found  which  are  as  satisfactory.  The  words,  it 
is  claimed,  have  a  Romish  tendency,  but  this  must  be 
proven,  and  not  simply  asserted.  The  Lutheran  has 
never  taught  that  public  worship  is  a  means  of  grace ; 
it  is  a  means  through  which  the  means  of  grace,  word 
and  sacrament  are  brought  to  men.  Rome  says  the 
public  service  is  an  institution  appointed  by  God  di- 
rectly conditioning  salvation.  The  Lutheran  Church 
says  public  worship  in  itself  does  not  convey  the  for- 
giveness of  sins  and  the  blessings  of  salvation.  These 
are  found  only  in  the  gracious  assurances  of  the  Gos- 
pel, which  must  be  appropriated  by  faith.  It  insists 
on  public  worship,  because  in  it  the  Holy  Spirit  comes 
to  men  as  the  word  and  the  sacraments  are  adminis- 
tered ;  and  that  men,  in  turn,  through  the  Holy  Spirit 
attending  word  and  sacraments,  receive  what  the  Holy 
Spirit  offers.  Romish  worship  crowds  out  the  sacra- 
mental by  the  sacrificial,  and  this  the  propitiatory  sacri- 
ficial. The  mass  is  a  sacrifice  of  expiation.  The  word 
is  in  an  unknown  tongue.* 

Further,  the  Lutheran  Church  teaches  that  public 
worship  should  harmonize  with  the  confession  of  faith 
of  those  who  employ  it.    Every  religion  has  developed 


*  Cf.  Jacob's  "Lutheran  Movement  in  England,"  Chap,  on 
Service. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  43 

its  own  distinctive  worship  as  it  has  had  distinctive 
being.  Just  so  far  as  it  has  had  deep  distinctive  reh- 
gious  ideas,  has  it  had  a  distinctive  form  of  worship. 
A  Christian  cannot  worship  Hke  a  Jew,  or  a  heathen, 
because  he  is  no  heathen  or  Jew.  The  rehgious  ideas 
pecuhar  to  him  will  hnd  expression  in  public  worship 
and  separate  him  from  the  Jew  or  the  heathen. 

"Christian  worship  can  borrow  nothing  from  the 
most  exquisite  forms  in  which  purely  pagan  ideas 
were  embodied.  So  far,  indeed,  as  paganism  involves 
the  generic  idea  which  makes  religion  religion,  it  is 
worthy  of  Christian  study.  There  is  a  sense  in  which 
Christ  is  the  end  of  the  pagan  system  as  He  is  of  the 
Jewish.  Paganism  was  the  instinctive  struggle ;  Juda- 
ism the  divinely-guided  one,  and  Christ  is  the  fulfilling 
of  what  is  truly  human  and  truly  divine  in  both.  What- 
ever is  distinctive  of  either  system,  apart  from  the 
great  generic  character,  Christianity  must  reject;  to 
accept  it  would  make  it  pagan  or  Jewish.  Hence  its 
churches  cannot  be  reared  on  pagan  models,  nor  its 
art  be  shaped  by  distinctively  pagan  ideas.  Neither  is 
Christian  worship  to  be  an  imitation  or  echo  of  the 
Jewish.  The  Church  of  Rome  has  sinned  grievously 
in  respect  to  her  conformity  to  pagan  and  Jewish  ideas. 
The  traveler  who  visits  Rome  sees  there  the  links  not 
broken  and  hardly  covered  which  unite  at  many  points 
the  worship  of  pagan  Rome  with  that  of  papal  Rome. 
The  battle  of  the  Reformation,  so  far  as  it  turned  upon 
worship,  was  directed  mainly  against  the  Judaizing 
principles  and  practice  of  the  Church  of  Rome." 

It  should,  however,  be  remembered  that  "the  Jewish 
worship,  embodying  as  it  does  great  ideas  divinely 
given,  common  to  all  time,  is  in  this  sphere  rich  in 
suggestions  even  to  the  Christian  mind.  Much  of  the 
Old  Testament  does  not  die  in  the  New,  but  is  trans- 
figured in  it.  David's  psalms  mean  more  to  us  than 
they  meant  to  David." 

A  true  worship  must,  therefore,  be  Christian  over 


44  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

against  all  other  religions,  and  equally  it  must  be  cath- 
olic and  not  sectarian.  It  will,  therefore,  be  in  har- 
mony with  the  worship  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  which 
was  divinely  guided  and  in  which  were  all  the  princi- 
ples of  Christian  worship.  There  must  be  in  it  that 
which  will  apeal  to  believers  in  all  times  and  place,  and 
will  conform  to  the  Scriptures,  but  it  must  not  be  un- 
derstood that  it  must  mechanically  conform  to  the 
apostolic  worship.  There  is  a  principle  of  growth  in 
the  Church,  and  the  Church  is  not  bound  in  matters 
indifferent  to  the  apostolic  usage.  As  she  has  devel- 
oped in  her  freedom  her  doctrines,  even  so  she  has 
developed  her  worship.  And  as  her  doctrines  are  con- 
ditioned by  their  agreement  with  Scripture,  even  so 
her  worship  may  alone  be  conditioned  by  the  same. 
An  order  of  public  worship  will,  therefore,  arise  out 
of  the  past.  It  will  be  the  living  growth  of  the  Chris- 
tian communion.  Orders  of  public  worship  have,  in- 
deed, been  made  to  order  by  able  and  pious  men,  but 
they  are  never  satisfactory.  They  are  individualistic 
and  not  catholic,  the  dust  of  the  study  is  upon  them 
and  not  the  rich  breath  of  the  life  of  the  Church 
wrought  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  dry  bones  will  not 
live. 

It,  however,  must  not  be  forgotten  that  there  will  be 
differences  in  worship  according  to  the  doctrines 
which  are  taught.  The  Protestant  cannot  be  satisfied 
with  the  Romish  mode  of  worship,  full  of  errors,  nor 
can  the  Lutheran,  whilst  holding  much  in  common,  be 
contented  with  those  portions  of  worship  where  the 
Calvinist  ignores  or  denies  his  faith. 

As  an  interesting  example  how  the  public  worship 
is  influenced  by  doctrine,  we  quote  the  following  from 
Tuckock's  "Divine  Liturgy" :  One  sentence  placed  in 
the  forefront  of  the  Lutheran  confession  of  sins  was 
discarded  by  the  revisers  of  the  Prayer  Book  as  doc- 
trinally  uncatholic  and  practically  injurious ;  it  was 
this :  'We  acknowledge  and  we  lament  that  we  are  con- 


SERMONS   AND   I'APERS  45 

ceived  and  born  in  sins,  and  that  therefore  we  be 
prone  to  all  evils  and  abhor  from  all  good  things.' 
What  the  faithful  are  called  to  grieve  over  is  not 
original  but  actual  sin.  The  guilt  of  that  nature  which 
we  received  from  Adam  has  been  wiped  out  in  bap- 
tism, and  in  preparation  for  the  reception  of  the  sacra- 
ment we  must  be  very  careful  not  to  ignore  or  depre- 
ciate the  blessing  of  another,  lest  we  mar  this  propor- 
tion of  the  catholic  doctrine." 

He  further  adds,  "Again  such  a  confession  must 
prove  harmful  in  practice,  for  to  bring  into  promi- 
nence the  depravity  of  our  fallen  nature,  is  to  plead 
some  justification  or  extenuation  of  our  sins,  which 
robs  the  confession  at  once  of  its  true  value.  The 
language  of  the  really  contrite  penitent  is  altogether 
different,  'We  have  done  amiss,  and  are  without  ex- 
cuse.'" 

It  is  readily  seen  that  the  Lutheran  conception  of  sin, 
so  deep  and  searching,  is  ignored  in  the  Episcopal  Con- 
fession. The  Reformers  taught  that  original  sin  is 
forgiven  the  baptized  believer,  but  it  remains  as  ten- 
dency to  sin,  wherefore  the  old  Adam  must  be  de- 
stroyed by  daily  repentance.  It  confesses  not  alone 
actual  sin,  but  that  by  nature  we  are  sinful  and  un- 
clean. The  confession  of  sin  in  the  Washington 
Liturgy,  beautiful  in  language  and  true  concerning 
actual  sins,  is  faulty  in  this,  that  derived  from  the 
Episcopal  Liturgy'  it  does  not  fully  set  forth  the  Luth- 
eran idea  of  sin.  It  is  true  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  it  is 
not  as  comprehensive  and  profound  as  our  Lutheran 
doctrine. 

Again  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  Lutheran  Liturgies 
generally  place  the  repetition  of  the  Nicene  Creed  be- 
fore the  Communion.  Luther  retained  it,  and,  in  1524, 
gave  it  to  the  people  in  versified  form  that  they  might 
sing  it  during  the  sen^ice.  This  is  in  strict  accord  with 
the  Lutheran  teaching  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  which 
sets   forth   the   divine   nature   of   Him   who   is  truly 


46  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

present  in  the  sacrament.  The  Apostles'  Creed  is  not 
so  expHcit  concerning  the  divinity  of  our  Lord,  and  is 
oft  repeated  by  those  who  deny  His  divine  nature.  The 
Nicene  Creed  clearly  sets  forth  Him  who  is  the  only 
begotten  Son,  God  of  God,  Light  of  Light,  and  thus 
prepares  the  worshiper  to  commune  with  Him. 

Liturgies  have  doctrinal  significance.  They  are;  bul- 
warks for  the  truth,  full  and  comprehensive  in  their 
statement  of  the  truth,  wherever  they  have  arisen  in 
conformity  to  the  word  of  God  out  of  the  life  of  the 
Church.  The  danger  doctrinally  from  such  a  liturgy 
is  infinitesimal,  though  there  are  those  who  claim  that 
where  the  substance  and  order  of  worship  is  left  to 
the  caprice  of  the  minister,  who  may  be  orthodox  or 
not,  the  danger  is  less.  Exposed  as  we  are  to  false 
teaching  in  the  homiletical  part  of  the  worship,  it  is 
well  in  the  liturgical  part,  strictly  so-called,  that  every- 
thing should  not  be  left  to  the  minister,  but  that  in 
worship  at  least  the  congregation  should  set  forth  fully 
and  truly  their  faith. 

True  worship  should  adapt  itself  within  due  limits 
to  the  national  life.  There  are  certain  essential  forms 
which  are  common  to  all  nations  because  there  is  a 
common  humanity.  'Tf  there  are  artificial  perversions 
in  national  life  which  make  it  incompatible  with  these 
great  elementary  principles,  Christianity  must  in  so  far 
break  down  that  life  and  make  it  capable  of  the  neces- 
sary adaptation."  Holding  fast  to  this  there  will, 
nevertheless,  be  adaptation  to  the  nation  and  the  times. 
The  human  element  in  the  service  will  be  adjusted  to 
the  life  of  the  people.  Rome  has  sinned  grievously  in 
this  direction  in  that  she  has  demanded  an  inflexible 
mode  of  worship  in  one  tongue,  and  that  a  dead  tongue, 
the  Latin. 

Luther  was  very  careful  in  this  matter.  With  deli- 
cate perception  and  judgment  he  retained  some  of  the 
old  Latin  hymns,  with  their  music,  but  he  did  not 
think,  as  a  rule,  the  old  Latin  chants  were  adapted  to 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  47 

the  German  language.  "I  would,"  he  writes,  in  1524, 
"gladly  have  a  church  service  entirely  in  German,  and 
I  am  laboring  for  that  purpose,  but  then  it  must  be 
thoroughly  and  consistently  Gennan.  The  literal  trans- 
lation of  the  Latin  text  into  German  and  the  singing 
of  the  old  Latin  tunes  is  not  in  good  taste  nor  is  it 
right.  The  words,  the  note,  the  accent,  the  mode,  the 
movement,  must  all  come  out  of  the  right  mother's 
speech  and  voice,  otherwise  it  is  a  mere  imitation,  such 
as  monkeys  make." 

One  of  his  old  biographers  says  of  him.  that  "One 
time  he  came  into  the  church  at  Eisenberg  on  Easter 
Day,  and  they  were  singing  the  Introit  in  German  with 
the  old  Latin  tune,  whereupon  he  turned  up  his  nose 
and  looked  very  sour.  When  he  returned  to  the  inn  to 
dine,  the  landlord  asked  him  what  had  been  the  matter 
with  him  in  church  ?  T  thought,'  he  said,  T  could  have 
spit  upon  their  ridiculous  singing.  If  they  wish  to  sing 
in  German,  then  let  them  sing  good  German  hymns  and 
tunes;  and  if  they  wish  to  sing  the  old  Latin  chants, 
then  let  them  retain  the  old  Latin  text  for  which  they 
were  made,  as  scholars  ought  to  do.  I  hate  people  who 
are  making  these  little  puny  innovations.  In  the  Latin 
schools,  let  them  sing  the  Latin  text  and  tunes ;  and  in 
the  German  churches,  let  them  sing  German  words  and 
music ;  then  all  goes  right.'  " 

Our  own  experience  as  an  English  Church  with 
some  of  the  German  hymns  and  music  has  been  un- 
satisfactory. They  are  not  adapted  to  our  life.  Only 
as  hymns  rise  above  the  national  and  are  universal,  can 
they  be  handed  from  nation  to  nation.  And  Luther 
shows  his  good  sense  here.  "Most  of  the  singing  of 
the  mass  is  very  fine  and  glorious,  breathing  nothing 
but  thankfulness  and  praise,  such  as  the  'Gloria  in 
Excelsis,  the  Hallelujah,  the  Sanctus,  the  Benedictus, 
the  Agnus  Dei.'  In  these  you  will  find  nothing  of  the 
superstition  of  the  sacrifice,  but  only  praise  and  thanks- 
giving.   Especially  the  Agnus  Dei,  above  all  hymns,  is 


48  LIFE   AND   WORKS    OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

appropriate  to  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper ; 
for  it  clearly  sings  and  praises  Christ  that  He  hath 
borne  our  sins,  and  it  lovingly  and  powerfully  brings 
up  the  memory  of  Christ  in  few  and  beautiful  words." 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  cared  for  this  principle 
of  adaptation.  It  guarded  jealously  the  freedom  of 
worship.  It  enriched  the  service  by  adding  to  the  best 
of  the  past  its  own  hymns.  "Germany  has  seen  many 
vicissitudes  since  the  tramp  of  battle  was  in  her  streets. 
The  paralysis  of  heresy  has  fallen  upon  her  churches, 
revolutions  have  overturned  her  thrones  and  storms 
swept  over  her  homes,  but  her  hymns  have  remained 
an  abiding  inheritance ;  a  creed  and  a  ritual  indelibly 
written  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people,  the  incense  of 
her  domestic  altars,  the  watchword  of  her  champions, 
the  solace  of  her  manly  hearts.  Many  a  hero  have 
they  inspired  in  patriotic  battle,  many  a  saint  when  the 
shadows  of  death  have  dimmed  his  eye  and  caused 
his  tongue  to  falter  and  his  grasp  to  relax.  The  songs 
of  men's  souls,  they  abide  still,  fresh  and  real  and 
beautiful,  and  they  will  abide  while  heart  answers  to 
heart,  or  God's  truth  speaks  to  it."* 

The  Lutheran  Church  of  the  sixteenth  century  re- 
tained those  great  essential  parts  which  the  Church  has 
found  to  best  express  the  needs  of  our  common  Chris- 
tianity. She  would  not  deprive  her  people  of  the  com- 
mon heritage  nor  despise  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  ages  past.  The  unity  of  the  Church  was  dear 
and  preferable  far  to  the  morbid  individualism  charac- 
teristic of  later  days.  Therefore  diverse  as  are  the 
nationalities  which  the  Lutheran  Church  embraces. 
they  conform  to  the  same  general  form  of  worship 
wherever  that  faith  and  worship  are  rightly  under- 
stood. 

In  their  recent  valuable  work  on  Christian  worship. 
Profs.  Richard  and  Painter  conclude  by  reference  to 


Allon  on  Hymns. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  49 

tliis  principle  of  national  adaptation,  and  speak  of  the 
worship  which  the  American  life  will  produce,  and 
rather  give  their  verdict  against  the  present  liturgical 
forms  of  worship  in  the  Lutheran  Church  as  too  elab- 
orate. It  is  too  soon  to  predict  what  the  renewed  con- 
sideration of  worship  will  produce.  The  American 
people  educated,  given  to  brevity,  gifted  with  esthetic 
taste,  will  in  their  forms  of  worship,  in  all  probability, 
incline  to  liturgical  forms  which  are  brief,  compre- 
hensive, beautiful,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

As  the  authors  themselves  have  pointed  out,  the  ten- 
dency is  toward  liturgical  forms.  The  force  of  the 
bald  and  bare  Puritanical  worship  has  spent  itself  and 
there  is  a  demand  that  everything  be  no  longer  left  to 
the  minister  and  the  choir,  but  that  the  congregation 
audibly  participate.  And  this  means  a  return  to  the 
treasures  of  prayer  and  praise  in  the  Church,  the  slow 
accumulation  of  the  centuries. 

Whatever  may  be  the  result  in  our  general  American 
Christianity,  it  is  reasonably  certain  that  a  genuine 
American  Lutheranism  will  conform  itself  closely  to 
the  fixed  fomis  of  the  worship  which  grew  out  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  Lutheran  Church  and  express  its  truth, 
faith  and  life.  Eventually  there  may  be  modifications 
adapting  it  to  certain  phases  and  needs  of  the  national 
life  of  this  people,  but  it  will  remain  faithful  in  essen- 
tials. There  may  be  some  who  have  been  trained  other- 
wise, to  whom  all  fixed  forms  are  distasteful,  who  may 
not  agree  wath  this  position,  but  such  appears  to  be  the 
movement  of  the  Church.  Conscientious  in  their  op- 
position and  true  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  they 
are  to  be  respected.  But  there  is  another  class  to 
whom  no  such  respect  can  be  accorded.  There  are 
errorists  who  intensely  dislike  fixed  forms  because  they 
express  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  which  they  do  not 
receive.  This  is  strikingly  manifested  by  Hamack 
and  his  followers,  who  desire  to  excise  the  Apostles' 
Creed  from  the  liturgical  forms  of  the  Church,  as  they 

4 


50  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

no  longer  subscribe  to  the  saving  doctrines  and  histori- 
cal facts  of  our  common  Christianity. 

In  the  present  condition  of  religious  life  the  wisest 
course  apparently  is  to  adopt  and  use  our  own  Luth- 
eran service  with  such  modifications  as  peculiar  sur- 
roundings may  demand,  and  through  its  use  come  at 
last  to  the  ideal  national  service  for  the  Church. 

For  a  proper  understanding  of  public  worship  it  is 
necessary  to  consider  for  a  moment  the  relation  of  the 
ministry  to  the  congregation.  The  universal  priest- 
hood of  believers  forbids  the  teaching  of  Rome,  that 
there  is  a  divinely  commissioned  order  through  whom 
alone  the  believer  can  come  to  God  in  public  worship ; 
that  the  priest  alone  can  present  the  prayers  and  praises 
of  the  congregation,  and  becomes  the  mediator  of  the 
grace  of  God  through  prayer  and  the  sacraments. 

We  teach  that  the  ministry  is  a  divinely  instituted 
office.  He  is  called  of  God  to  this  office,  which  call  is 
mediated  by  the  Church.  The  minister  is  one  selected 
out  of  the  Church  and  called  and  ordained  by  the 
Church  to  the  ministry  of  preaching,  to  administer  the 
sacraments  and  to  conduct  their  worship  decently  and 
in  order.  Protestantism  acknowledges  merely  the  of- 
ficial fitness  of  the  clergy  to  conduct  worship.  On  the 
one  hand,  called  of  God  the  minister  represents  God 
as  His  ambassador,  officially  speaking  and  acting  for 
God.  On  the  other  hand,  he  represents  the  congrega- 
tion to  lead  them  in  their  worship. 

As  such  the  minister  should  realize  that  he  is  to 
represent  the  congregation  and  conduct  their  worship 
not  according  to  individual  fancies,  but  according  to 
the  needs  of  the  congregation.  He  may  not  officiate 
in  an  unknown  tongue.  He  may  not  assume  the  por- 
tion of  the  service  that  belongs  to  the  congregation. 
He  may  not  arbitrarily  change  their  worship.* 

The  worship  must  be  in  truth.    "They  that  worship 


*  "Christian    Worship,"    Richard   and    Painter. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  51 

Him  must  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  truth."  The 
audible  word,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  must  be 
understood  by  the  hearer  so  that  he  may  intelligently 
and  devoutly  draw  near  to  God,  and  in  the  visible 
word,  the  sacrament,  the  believer  must  actually  be  a 
participant. 

The  demand  is,  therefore,  that  in  everything  the  min- 
istry must  provide  a  true  and  proper  use  of  God's 
word.  Where  there  is  freedom  to  the  minister,  as  in 
preaching,  it  must  conform  to  the  Scripture.  Preach- 
ing is  not  all  of  worship,  it  is  a  chief  part  alone,  when 
it  is  legitimately  drawn  out  of  God's  word.  A  great 
deal  of  preaching  is  neither  worship  nor  gospel. 

God's  word  appears  sacramentally  chiefly  in  the 
Scripture  readings,  the  Sermon,  the  Absolution  and 
Benediction.  The  Scripture  lessons  may  be  free,  chosen 
by  the  pastor,  but  they  are  presented  to  us  by  the 
Church  through  the  Scripture  lessons  adapted  to  the 
Church  Year.  These  lessons  are  not  faultless,  but  they 
stand  for  the  judgment  of  the  Church  as  containing 
the  essence  of  the  word,  a  hindrance  to  that  excessive 
individualism  which  too  often  presents  a  fragmentary 
conception  of  the  truth  to  the  people. 

The  general  Church  must  not  deprive  the  local  con- 
gregation of  liberty,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  local 
congregation  is  bound  to  conform  to  the  principles  of 
the  general  Church.  The  local  congregation  may  not 
interpret  Scripture  as  it  pleases,  or  change  the  creed, 
neither  has  it  a  right  to  define  for  itself  its  own  wor- 
ship. It  has  a  relation  to  the  general  Church.  It  is 
not  an  independent  entity.  There  is  a  communion  of 
the  saints.  There  is  a  law  of  liberty  in  worship  as  well 
as  in  duty.  There  is  a  fellowship  in  worship  which 
should  be  observed  as  well  as  fellowship  in  doctrine. 
A  congregation  is  not  the  sole  source  of  authority  or 
wisdom. 

It  is  on  this  principle  that  the  advocates  of  the 
Church  Year  declare  that  the  general  Church  is  better 


52  LIFE    AND    WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

adapted  to  select  the  Scripture  lessons  than  the  indi- 
vidual congregation. 

It  is  sometimes  urged  that  the  use  of  the  Church 
Year  is  opposed  to  true  freedom  and  destructive  of 
spirituality.  It  is  true  that  where  it  is  used  mechan- 
ically and  formally  this  is  the  result,  but  this  is  equally 
characteristic  of  the  individual  use  of  the  Bible,  which 
will  also  depend  upon  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  used. 

The  Church  Year  is  based  upon  the  life  and  person 
of  Christ.  It  sets  Him  forth  not  in  snatches  and  frag- 
ments but  in  fullness.  The  minister  who  follows  the 
Church  Year  wisely  will  bring  before  the  congregation 
the  complete  work  and  life  of  Christ.  Merriam,  a 
Congregationalist,  says,  "Christianity,  both  as  a  creed 
and  as  a  life,  depends  absolutely  upon  the  personal 
character  of  the  Founder.  As  the  chief  attack  of  crit- 
icism (and  so  necessarily  upon  theology  and  upon  the 
actual  Christian  life)  is  more  and  more  concentrated 
upon  the  story  of  the  Gospels  and  upon  the  Divine 
Man  therein  set  forth,  such  an  annual  following  of  that 
life  in  study,  worship  and  practical  application  to  our 
own  conduct  as  the  felicitous  ordering  of  the  Church 
Year  affords,  becomes  more  attractive  and  useful.  It 
tends  to  fix  attention  on  that  which  is  simple,  primary 
and  essential  to  the  faith.  It  incites  personal  affection 
and  loyalty  to  Jesus  and  lifts  Him  up  as  an  example 
and  inspiration  in  daily  conduct.  In  this  way  the 
Church  Year  tends  to  bring  Christians  out  of  the  ab- 
stractions of  theory  and  opinion  into  the  region  of 
life."* 

In  all  this  it  is  not  to  be  understood  that  Christ  is  not 
savingly  set  forth  where  there  is  no  observance  of  the 
Church  Year.  He  has  been  truly  set  forth  and  is  now 
without  such  observance,  but  in  how  many  cases  in  a 
hapless  fashion.  Some  of  the  great  features  of 
Christ's  work  and  life  are  ignored  or  overlooked.    The 


*  Merriam,  Andovcr  Review,  "Use  of  the  Church  Year." 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  53 

Scriptures  are  used  in  the  most  arbitrary  and  capri- 
cious manner.  The  preaching  is  desultory,  sensational, 
incomplete.  Or  the  dogmatic  side  of  Christianity  is 
overworked  and  the  pulpit  becomes  the  arena  for  theo- 
logical subtleties.  In  Germany  I  was  much  impressed 
by  the  sermons  drawn  from  the  gospels  of  the  Church 
Year.  They  were  in  touch  with  Christ,  and,  therefore, 
practical  and  spiritual.  In  Heidelberg  an  advanced 
theologian  in  handling  the  gospel  for  the  day,  because 
he  followed  it  in  an  expository  way,  brought  his  con- 
gregation face  to  face  with  the  divine  Christ  in  strong 
helpfulness. 

The  worth  of  the  Church  Year  is  great  to  those 
who  devoutly  follow  it — Advent,  Incarnation,  Epiph- 
any, the  temptation,  the  preparation  for  the  cross,  the 
Holy  Week,  Good  Friday,  Easter,  the  forty  days.  As- 
cension, Whitsunday,  Trinity,  here  are  the  great  themes 
to  set  forth  Christ,  the  great  redemption,  the  glorious 
promises,  the  Church,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  deep  mys- 
tery of  the  Godhead ;  whilst  the  Sundays  after  Trinity 
cover  the  Christian  life  in  its  fullness.  It  can  only  be 
appreciated  when  it  is  followed  in  devout  and  humble 
fidelity  to  present  a  complete  and  not  a  partial  Christ 
to  the  people,  a  complete  and  not  a  partial  Christian 
life  to  the  believer. 

Above  all  let  it  be  remembered  that  with  the  liberty 
that  belongs  to  the  preacher,  it  serves  him  as  guide 
and  is  not  a  tyrant.  He  can  vary  with  judgment,  fol- 
lowing the  spirit  of  the  Church  Year.  There  will  arise 
circumstances  which  will  justify  him  in  his  leading  of 
the  congregation  to  deal  with  other  topics  and  themes. 
If  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the 
Sabbath,  even  so  the  Church  in  these  selections  meant 
this  order  to  be  followed  for  the  edification  of  her 
members  and  as  a  guide  to  her  ministry,  but  does  not 
desire  her  members  and  ministry  to  be  slaves  to  this 
order. 

Through  the  sermon,  the  ministry  as  ambassadors 


54  LIFE   AND    WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

in  the  name  and  place  of  God,  offer  God's  grace  to  the 
congregation.  As  a  Church,  we  have  ever  regarded  it 
as  of  the  highest  importance.  Luther  said:  "Where 
God's  word  is  not  preached,  it  were  better  that  there 
were  not  singing,  or  reading,  or  assembly.  The  great- 
est and  the  principal  part  of  the  worship  of  God  is  the 
preaching  and  teaching  of  God's  word."  He  did  not 
mean  by  this  that  the  other  portions  of  worship  were 
not  of  the  highest  importance,  as  his  Formula  Missae 
well  shows,  but  it  was  his  indignant  protest  against 
that  worship  which  had  ignored  the  preaching  of  the 
word. 

In  the  sermon  there  will  always  be  the  personality  of 
the  minister,  though  influenced  by  the  churchly  faith 
and  conversation  of  the  people  of  God.  It  will  be  the 
utterance  of  his  personal  experience.  It  is  this  which 
gives  peculiarity  to  the  preacher  and  influence  over 
men,  but  that  is  alone  a  true  sermon  where  these  gifts 
are  subjected  in  humble  submission  to  God,  and  where 
the  Scriptures  are  the  quickening  soul  and  directing 
norm  of  the  sermon.  The  sermon  will  thus  declare 
God's  forgiveness  to  men  and  bestow  upon  them  His 
grace. 

There  must  also  be  the  administration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  in  which  we  are  united  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  the 
holy  and  blessed  sacrament  of  His  body  and  blood. 
It  is,  with  the  word  of  God,  the  means  whereby  God 
imparts  His  grace  to  us  in  Christian  worship. 

It  must  be  observed,  as  He  commanded  it.  There 
must  be  the  consecration  or  words  of  the  institution, 
the  distribution  and  the  reception.  Here,  in  every  age 
where  worship  has  been  true,  the  Christian  congrega- 
tion finds  supreme  nearness  to  the  Lord,  enjoys  His 
comfort  and  receives  His  life,  and  therefore  concludes 
with  it  the  service  in  order  that  the  believer  may  de- 
part with  joy  and  thanksgiving  from  the  house  of 
God. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  sacrificial  acts  in  worship 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  55 

are  through  confession,  praise  and  prayer.  It  will  be 
imposible  to  treat  of  all  these,  of  the  value  of  the 
creeds  in  worship,  of  the  Introits,  the  formula  solennes, 
the  church  hymns,  as  time  forbids. 

We  will  but  consider  prayer,  which  is  so  prominent 
in  all  worship.  Our  whole  life  ought  to  be  a  continual 
prayer,  but  that  devotion  may  be  strengthened  and 
fellowship  with  God  be  living,  prayer  must  be  ex- 
pressed. Consciousness  of  guilt  will  cause  man  to 
confess  his  sin  and  ask  for  forgiveness ;  consciousness 
of  forgiveness  and  of  the  received  grace  of  God  will 
be  expressed  in  thanks  and  praises  to  Him,  whilst  his 
needs  within  and  without  will  ever  move  him  to  suppli- 
cation and  intercession.  The  believer  will  show  forth 
his  faith  in  words  of  prayer.  As  he  belongs  to  the  con- 
gregation, such  prayer  will  be  common,  even  as  Christ 
enjoined.  Prayer  must  be  true,  from  the  heart,  in  the 
name  of  Christ  and  with  filial  confidence.  By  these 
last  is  it  distinguished  from  the  prayers  of  other  reli- 
gions. The  prayer  of  the  Christian  is  the  prayer  of  a 
child  of  God,  justified  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Should  prayer  be  free  or  written?  Ought  not  the 
believer  to  approach  God,  speaking  freely  out  of  need, 
seeking  guidance  from  the  Holy  Spirit?  Are  not  the 
formal  prayers  of  the  service,  the  confession  of  sins, 
the  collects,  the  general  prayers,  detrimental  to  spirit- 
uality, fetters  upon  the  free  spirit?  There  are  those 
who  honestly  believe  this. 

It  ought  not  to  be  overlooked  that  the  public  prayer 
is  the  prayer  of  the  congregation,  and  the  minister  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  congregation.  In  free  prayer  they 
are  helplessly  in  the  power  of  the  minister.  The  sole 
security  lies  in  the  good  sense,  good  taste  and  devout 
feeling  of  the  minister.  It  is  true  that  by  the  help 
of  an  unwritten  liturgy,  and  a  canon  of  unwritten  law 
in  the  methods  and  mode  of  prayer,  that  the  minister 
generally  fairly  fulfills  his  duties.  But  how  often  does 
prayer  fail,  because  of  the  peculiarities,  self-seeking 


56  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

and  thoughtlessness  and  even  lack  of  spirituality  in  the 
minister.  Prayer  is  an  opportunity  to  display  the  man. 
"He  delivered  an  eloquent  and  impressive  prayer." 
"The  most  eloquent  prayer  ever  addressed  to  a  Boston 
audience."  What  an  incongruity  to  speak  thus  of 
prayer  and  what  a  criticism  on  the  officiant ! 

Boyd,  of  Scotland,  says:  "How  often  has  everyone 
been  annoyed  by  the  minister  in  prayer  giving  infor- 
mation to  the  Lord,  or  using  it  as  a  means  of  reproof, 
or  an  opportunity  to  air  the  speaker's  views,  or  to  esti- 
mate his  opponents. 

"Thus  prayer  as  information.  'Bless  each  one  of  the 
thirteen  hundred  and  forty-five  communicants  who  re- 
ceived the  sacrament  last  Sunday  under  this  roof.' 

"As  reproof :  'Have  mercy  on  them  who  present 
trifling  excuses  which  would  not  for  a  moment  be  suf- 
fered to  detain  them  from  any  engagement  of  business, 
or  of  amusement,  to  keep  them  away  from  the  places 
where  God  has  recorded  His  name  and  promised  to 
meet  with  His  people.' 

"As  expressive  of  the  speaker's  views :  'Lord,  have 
mercy  upon  the  magistrates  of  Drumsleekie,  such  as 
they  are,  make  them  wiser  and  better.' 

"As  estimate  of  opponents  :  'Lord,  have  mercy  upon 
that  miserable  man  who  was  lately  pouring  forth  blas- 
phemies against  Thee.'  The  blasphemy  consisted  of 
declaring  that  there  was  no  harm  in  taking  a  walk 
in  a  Botanic  Garden  on  the  Lord's  Day.  Some  are 
hard  to  classify,  as  in  an  extempore  marriage  service, 
the  prayer  had  the  following:  'We  thank  Thee  that 
Thou  hast  given  us  wumman  to  make  us  koum fort- 
able.'  " 

Prayer  is  to  be  edifying,  building  up  the  faith  of 
the  congregation  by  expressing  their  wants  and  thanks- 
givings unto  God  reverently,  fully  and  helpfully.  A 
provided  form  will  do  this  as  adequately  as  free 
prayer  and  oft  better.  The  truth  is  that  "as  certain 
as  two  and  two  make  four,"  as  Dr.  Boyd,  a  Presby- 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  57 

terian,  says,  "that  so  far  as  concerns  the  congregation 
public  prayer  is  always  of  necessity  a  provided  form. 
It  is  never  the  extemporaneous,  or  free  prayer  of  the 
congregation :  it  is  a  form  provided  and  imposed  upon 
them  by  the  officiating  minister.  The  congregation 
cannot  even  (as  with  a  prayer-book)  look  at  the  service 
beforehand  and  resolve  whether  it  be  such  as  they 
can,  in  conscience,  in  feeling,  in  good  taste,  join  in  and 
accept  as  their  own.  Nobody  knows  what  the  form  is 
until  it  is  actually  produced ;  not  even  the  man  who  is 
to  produce  it.  Often  from  sentence  to  sentence  he  is 
groping  his  way.  Often  he  knows  not  what  is  to  come 
next.  Often  he  feels  deeply  that  he  has  not  said  what  he 
desired,  and  wishes  he  could  withdraw  or  amend  the 
words.  That  is  to  say,  and  By  which  I  mean,  Princi- 
pal Tulloch  told  me,  were  words  familiar  to  him  in  the 
prayers  of  a  fine  old  professor  of  the  university  in  his 
youth. 

"The  question  is  not  form  or  no  form.  The  only 
issue  is.  Shall  the  form  be  provided  deliberately, 
calmly,  with  serious  consideration  and  by  the  combined 
wisdom  of  a  company  of  devout  and  earnest  men?  or 
shall  it  be  provided  in  great  haste,  nervous  trepidation 
and  utter  blankness,  without  a  vestige  of  devotional 
feeling,  by  some  youth  without  religious  experience 
and  quite  unable  to  interpret  and  express  the  needs 
and  feelings  of  good  old  Christian  people  tried  in  ways 
of  which  he  knows  nothing  at  all?  Lord  Campbell 
tells  us  that  the  morning  he  had  first  to  pray  in  the 
Divinity  Hall  at  St.  Andrews,  *I  heard  the  bell  cease 
and  my  heart  died  within  me.'  Is  that  a  fit  mood  in 
which  to  extemporize  a  form  of  prayer?  We  know, 
God  be  thanked,  it  is  not  always  so.  It  is  not  even 
commonly  so.  The  form  is  provided  by  a  good  and 
experienced  minister,  well  knowing  the  case  of  his 
congregation,  tolerably  free  from  nervousness,  and 
with  his  memory  stored  with  decorous  sentences,  the 
traditional  liturgy  of  Scotland;  he  can  hardly  go  wrong. 


58  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

Not  merely  upon  the  minister's  spiritual  frame,  but 
upon  the  humblest  details  of  his  physical  nature,  the 
congregation  are  helplessly  dependent  for  their  prayers. 
'The  Spirit  is  not  in  this  place,'  said  an  emotional  evan- 
gelist, preaching  for  good  Dr.  Craik,  of  Glasgow ;  one 
of  the  best  and  most  cultivated  of  Scotch  ministers  in 
his  day.  But  Dr.  Craik  told  me,  with  much  indigna- 
tion, 'I  said  to  him  after  church  that  the  Spirit  would 
not  be  in  any  place  if  a  man  ate  two  pounds  of  beef- 
steak at  breakfast  that  morning !'  The  statement  was 
humbling,  but  it  was  true.  A  physical  miracle  need 
not  be  looked  for." 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  provided  forms  of  prayer, 
but  has  not  made  them  compulsory.  She  acknowl- 
edges both  free  and  written  prayer.  There  are  times 
when  the  minister  will  be  desirous  to  lead  the  devotion 
of  his  people  in  special  needs.  There  is  also  provided 
in  the  general  prayer  a  place  for  special  petitions  con- 
veying desires  which  are  not  satisfied  by  the  written 
prayers.  There  are  thus  direction  and  freedom.  Per- 
sonal experience  has  taught  us  the  worth  of  this.  There 
have  been  times  when  to  extemporize  a  suitable  prayer 
has  seemed  impossible,  just  at  other  times  it  has  been 
a  delightful  and  unspeakable  privilege.  However,  the 
best  of  free  prayers  do  always  lack  the  terse,  full  and 
complete  character  of  those  glorious  prayers  that  the 
Church  has  crystallized  out  of  her  life,  the  result  of 
devout  communion  with  God,  that  glow,  jewel-like, 
with  the  brilliant  colors  of  faith  and  hope  and  love  and 
praise  and  adoration. 

The  fundamental  elements  of  Christian  worship  are 
in  the  service  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  every  portion 
being  full  of  precious  meaning,  deep  with  the  truth  of 
God.  The  congregation  first  approach  God  with  the 
confession.  They  humbly  confess  their  sins  and  re- 
ceive the  declaration  of  grace  in  the  gospel  promises 
to  the  penitent  and  believing.  Pardoned,  they  are  pre- 
pared out  of  grateful  hearts  to  adore  and  praise  God. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  59 

The  Glorias,  the  Gloria  Patri  and  the  Gloria  in  Excel- 
sis,  bound  together  by  the  Kyrie,  pleading  for  mercy, 
exultantly  rise.  The  Scriptures  are  then  read,  in  which 
God  speaks  through  His  word  to  His  people,  the  Gos- 
pel tells  of  Christ  the  Saviour,  and  in  the  mighty  con- 
sciousness of  their  trust  and  love,  the  congregation 
joyfully  confess  their  glorious  faith  in  the  creed.  The 
hymn  is  now  sung,  and  the  sermon,  to  which  all  these 
have  led,  brings  the  message  of  Christ's  minister  to 
the  people.  The  congregation  then  lay  their  offerings 
before  the  Lord,  symbol  of  their  consecration  to  Him. 
The  general  prayer  then  follows,  for  the  teaching 
should  lead  men  to  know  God  and  themselves,  and 
thus  in  fellowship  with  one  another,  in  trusting  faith, 
they  are  fitted  to  pray  for  all  men,  the  Church  of  Christ 
and  for  every  good.  The  communion  follows.  In 
lofty  adoration  and  praise  they  draw  near.  The  ex- 
hortation searches  the  heart.  The  words  of  the  Mas- 
ter are  heard;  the  tender  words  of  love,  the  gracious 
command,  with  its  wondrous  promises,  fall  like  music 
upon  the  believing  heart. 

The  Lord's  Prayer  tells  of  the  common  filial  relation 
to  God  the  Father,  the  Agnus  Dei  so  rich  in  the  presen- 
tation of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  calls  forth  grateful  and  adoring  love.  Then  fol- 
lows the  distribution,  the  thanksgiving,  doxology  and 
benediction.  As  Lutherans,  we  have  the  most  appro- 
priate and  beautiful  communion  service  of  all  Chris- 
tian churches,  as  is  meet  for  those  who  hold  the  true 
and  precious  doctrine  of  the  Lord  in  this  most  holy 
ordinance. 

It  is  well,  therefore,  to  prize  our  heritage.  There 
are  in  it  eternal  riches.  It  is  not  perfect.  Perhaps  no 
service  on  earth  ever  will  be.  All  our  worship  is  af- 
fected by  the  sin  of  man  and  the  presence  of  the  world 
about  him. 

Worship  must  ever  have  its  sad  side,  because  it  must 
set  forth  the  life  of  the  Church,  whose  silver  is  ever 


60  LIFE   AND    WORKS    OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

mixed  with  dross,  its  wine  with  water.  It  must  have 
its  glad  side,  looking  beyond  this  life  to  the  true  life  of 
the  Church,  as  it  should  be  and  is  to  be.  It  confesses 
sins,  it  urges  to  sanctification  and  lays  hold  upon  the 
glorification  which  shall  be.  It  is  the  bond  of  earth 
and  heaven,  as  has  well  been  said.  "The  Church  tri- 
umphant must  lend  part  of  her  treasures  to  the  Church 
militant  to  help  her  upward  to  the  triumphant.  Wor- 
ship is  a  thing  both  of  the  cross  and  of  the  crown ;  it 
could  not  be  without  the  bloody  sweat  in  Gethsemane 
nor  without  the  scepter  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father. 
It  needs  the  litany  of  the  Church  in  the  dust,  and  the 
Gloria  in  Excelsis  which  came  down  in  its  first  words 
upon  angel  lips  out  of  heaven.  Nothing  is  so  deep, 
nothing  so  high,  nothing  so  sad,  nothing  so  exultant  as 
true  worship.  To  go  beneath  it  belongs  only  to  the 
lost,  to  rise  beyond  it  belongs  not  even  to  the  angels 
and  the  glorified.  It  is  heaven's  supremest  height  per- 
fectly to  rise  to  it."* 

Therefore,  whilst  in  our  worship  here  earthly  in- 
firmities remain,  there  is  also  in  the  true  worship  a 
heavenly  ideal,  which  the  exultant  soul  in  its  flight  of 
adoration,  praise  and  prayer  can  never  pass  beyond. 
Worship  abides  in  the  Church  here,  and  will  abide  in 
the  heavenly  Church,  for  there  as  here  must  God  and 
man  draw  near  each  other  in  fellowship.  And  in  the 
ages  to  come,  that  form  of  worship  will  abide  in  the 
Church  where,  crystallized  in  her  hymns  and  chants 
and  psalms  and  prayers,  the  child  of  God,  believing, 
needy,  loving,  finds  spirituality  and  truth  wrought  out 
by  the  struggles,  sorrows,  aspirations  and  victories  of 
the  children  of  God,  who  now  in  heaven  worship 
before  Him  who  sitteth  upon  the  throne  and  the  Lamb 
forever  and  ever. 


*  Krauth,  MS.,  "Lectures  on  Worship." 


THE    DIET    OF    SPEYER;    THE    RISE    AND 
NECESSITY  OF   PROTESTANTISM 

The  instinctive  good  sense  of  men  in  the  consid- 
eration of  history  finds  certain  epochs  wherein  the 
race  was  advanced  in  truth,  wisdom  and  goodness,  and 
equally  finds  certain  men  who,  greater  than  their  fel- 
lows, were  the  efficient  cause  of  this  advance.  It 
therefore  justly  honors  them  at  the  first,  and,  as  the 
centuries  roll  by  and  by  their  results  attest  favorably 
the  quality  of  their  work,  extends  to  them  an  ever 
heartier  and  more  reverential  honor.  It  is  the  char- 
acteristic of  the  great  that  they  are  better  understood 
by  later  generations  than  by  their  contemporaries.  They 
are  too  near  their  own  age.  Trivial  faults  are  dwelt 
upon  more  than  excellencies.  The  ordinary,  that 
which  they  have  in  common  with  others,  is  more  con- 
spicuous than  the  extraordinary,  which  often  their 
fellows  cannot  comprehend.  As  time  removes  them 
from  us,  we  reach  the  true  view-point  and  the  great 
character  is  revealed  in  its  due  proportions.  All  of  us 
will  recall  the  peculiar  effect  which  a  towering  mount- 
ain has  produced  upon  us.  As  we  were  near  to  it,  its 
majesty  was  dwarfed,  the  foot-hills  were  almost  its 
equals.  Then  as  we  receded  from  it.  how  it  lifted 
itself  up,  rising  in  serene  sublimity  whilst  the  foot- 
hills were  lost  in  the  dim  distance.  Never  will  we 
forget  how  a  towering  crest  of  the  Rockies  thus  con- 
veyed its  majesty  to  us.  We  had  looked  up  to  it  from 
the  base,  and  it  had  not  seemed  great,  but  when  the 
swift-moving  train  had  carried  us  a  score  of  miles 
away  and  still  the  stainless  snowy  crest  against  the 
deep  blue  of  the  sky  seemed  as  near  as  when  we  left 
its  foot,  the  majesty  of  the  monarch  revealed  itself 
and  at  last  we  felt  how  immeasurably  great  it  was. 
Thus  has  it  been  with  Martin  Luther.     The  centuries 

61 


62  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES    S.   ALBERT 

have  not  diminished  the  lustre  of  his  genius,  the  nobil- 
ity of  his  character,  the  surpassing  excellency  of  his 
work.  They  have  given  us  the  true  view-point,  and, 
as  the  towering  peak,  so  he  rises  above  his  contem- 
poraries and  reveals  his  greatness.  Nor  can  the  favor- 
ite doctrine  of  the  day,  that  of  Zeit-geist,  the  spirit 
of  the  age,  account  for  him.  It  teaches  that  circum- 
stances make  the  man,  man  does  not  shape  the  circum- 
stances. It  is  the  age  which  produces,  not  the  indi- 
vidual. There  are  no  longer  on  this  theory  great,  con- 
structive, creative  men,  children  of  the  dawn,  bringers 
of  the  light  to  their  fellows  lying  in  the  dark- 
ness of  ignorance,  but  empty  vessels  which  are 
filled  with  any  sort  of  spirit  indifferently  as  the 
age  may  furnish.  They  have  the  capacity,  but 
the  age  furnishes  all  the  material  of  thought  and 
goodness  which  they  display.  It  is,  it  may  safely 
be  granted,  quite  true  that  there  are  men  who  are 
representative  of  their  times,  in  whom  the  inar- 
ticulate thoughts  of  the  age  are  first  clearly  com- 
prehended and  plainly  set  forth  in  articulate  words. 
In  them  the  smouldering  embers  flash  into  a  bright, 
steady  light.  What  the  mass  felt,  and  struggled  after 
and  vainly  tried  to  tell,  in  them  finds  expression  and 
through  them  in  turn  all  the  people  come  into  the 
knowledge  of  truth.  We  may  not  clearly  understand 
the  nations  or  the  times  without  these  characteristic 
men.  They  are  the  mirror  of  their  age.  To  study 
such  individuals  intelligently  until  they  live  again  in 
our  minds  is  to  obtain  a  vivid  conception  of  the  people 
and  their  period.  Their  emotions,  passions,  thoughts, 
words  and  deeds  will  give  us  the  key  and  unlock  the 
past  in  which  they  lived  better  than  any  array  of  dry 
facts  and  philosophical  histories.  Man  alone  can  ex- 
plain man.  It  is  the  never-failing  charm  of  biography. 
The  age  of  Pericles,  we  say,  not  the  age  of  Athens, 
for  in  Pericles  that  portion  of  Grecian  history  is  best 
known.    "Wonderful,"  says  one,  "is  this  power  which 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  63 

an  age  has  to  select  one  of  its  men  and  crowd  itself 
into  him  and  hold  him  up  before  the  world  and  say, 
"Know  me  b}'  him !"  Scottish  life  and  religion  of  the 
sixteenth  century  is  best  interpreted  by  stern,  grim, 
conscientious  John  Knox.  Carlyle  with  shrewdest 
penetration  fastens  upon  Cromwell  as  the  embodiment 
of  that  Puritanic  life  which  hated  the  rule  of  kings  and 
loved  freedom,  yet,  amazingly  inconsistent,  despoti- 
cally crushed  all  who  disagreed  with  it. 

Few  men  so  richly  set  forth  this  truth  as  Luther. 
In  him  all  that  vast  movement  called  the  Reformation 
comes  into  clear,  distinct,  articulate  life.  The  forces 
which  accomplished  the  Reformation  were  already 
at  work  when  he  appears.  The  longing  for  a  better, 
purer,  more  satisfactory  faith,  the  hatred  of  hypoc- 
risy and  unrighteousness,  horror  of  false  doctrine 
and  of  a  corrupt  Church,  the  detestation  of  Romish 
abominations.  His  rich  nature  compasses  all  these. 
His  inner  religious  life  is  the  practical  exemplification 
of  the  Reformation  doctrines,  the  deep  sense  of  sin, 
justification  by  faith,  child-like  trust,  love  and  fidelity 
to  the  word  of  God.  He  lays  hold  upon  these  great 
fundamental  truths  more  nearly  than  any  man  before 
or  since.  He  gives  them  voice.  Others  may  formu- 
late ;  he  first  speaks.  The  Augsburg  Confession  is 
from  the  pen  of  Melanchthon ;  the  thoughts  are 
Luther's. 

How  eloquent  is  the  testimony  of  Dollinger,  the  Old 
Catholic :  "This  force  and  strength  of  the  Reforma- 
tion was  only  in  part  due  to  the  personality  of  the  man 
who  was  its  author  and  spokesman  in  Germany.  It 
was  Luther's  overpowering  greatness  and  wonderful 
many-sidedness  of  mind  that  made  him  the  man  of 
his  age  and  his  people.  Nor  was  there  a  German  who 
had  such  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  his  countrymen 
and  was  again  so  completely  possessed,  not  to  say  ab- 
sorbed, by  the  national  sentiment,  as  the  Augustinian 
monk  of  \\'ittenberg.    The  mind  and  spirit  of  the  Ger- 


64  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.   ALBERT 

mans  were  in  his  hand  what  the  lyre  is  in  the  hands 
of  the  skilled  musician.  He  gave  them  more  than  any 
man  in  Christian  days  ever  gave  his  people — lan- 
guage, popular  manuals  of  instruction,  Bibles,  hymnol- 
ogy.  All  his  opponents  could  offer  in  place  of  it,  was 
insipid,  colorless  and  feeble  by  the  side  of  his  trans- 
porting eloquence.  They  stammered ;  he  spoke.  He 
alone  has  impressed  the  indelible  stamp  of  his  mind 
on  the  German  language  and  the  German  intellect,  and 
even  those  among  us  who  hold  him  in  religious  de- 
testation as  the  great  heresiarch  and  seducer  of  the 
nation,  are  constrained  in  spite  of  themselves  to  speak 
with  his  words  and  think  with  his  thoughts." 

Therefore,  from  such  considerations,  we  do  well  as 
Protestants  to  honor  Martin  Luther,  for  all  who  love 
the  Reformation  must  ever  find  in  him  its  greatest 
and  truest  embodiment. 

The  man  who  believes  in  the  providential  guidance 
of  this  world  cannot  explain  history  by  the  spirit  of 
the  age,  the  zeit-geist.  He  does  not  simply  accept 
great  men  as  the  exponents  of  their  age.  He  believes 
that  God  expressly  sends  forth  such  men  and  that  He 
fills  them  with  wisdom.  They  become  teachers  not 
alone  for  their  day,  but  for  all  time.  They  are  crea- 
tive as  well  as  receptive.  They  rise  higher  than  their 
age.  On  their  faces  shine  the  glory  of  the  light  of 
knowledge  which  comes  in  its  fullness  to  after  ages. 

When  men  discuss  great  questions  which  are  the 
subject  of  controversy,  they  investigate  and  examine 
the  truths  involved  with  untiring  industry  and  under 
the  white  heat  of  intense  conviction.  Under  such  in- 
fluence men  see  into  the  heart  of  these  truths  better 
than  their  successors.  The  later  thinkers  simply  spec- 
ulate with  languid  interest.  Rigid  dogma  is  reached. 
Definitions  made  with  precision.  They  do  not  create. 
Sometimes  they  fail  even  to  make  the  truth  live. 

There  is  a  plant  which  is  dry  and  dead  in  appear- 
ances which  the  careless  looker-on  might  throw  away 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  65 

as  worthless.  Placed  in  water  it  changes,  its  dry  petals 
open  and  reveal  the  inward  hidden  beauty.  So  truth 
wrought  out  is  seemingly  dead  to  the  scribe  and  Phari- 
see. The  prophet's  words  are  dissected,  analyzed  and 
dogmatized.  It  needs  the  atmosphere  of  intense  con- 
viction and  love  of  truth  to  make  them  live  and  dis- 
close their  beauty. 

There  is  an  immense  amount  of  foolish  talk  to-day. 
Great  thinkers  of  the  past  are  despised.  It  is  asserted 
that  a  child  on  the  shoulders  of  a  man  is  taller  than 
a  man.  The  common  man  of  the  nineteenth  century 
understands  their  peculiar  truths  better  than  the  giants 
of  the  sixteenth  century  that  wrought  them  out  with 
toil  of  brain  and  heart-blood,  because  he  has  their 
knowledge  to  stand  upon.  Ah !  there  's  the  rub.  Does 
he  stand  upon  their  knowledge?  It  reminds  one  of 
the  old  Scottish  woman.  She  accused  her  minister, 
a  young  man,  of  preaching  works.  He  took  refuge 
in  the  sermon  on  the  mount.  "Ow,  ay,"  answered  the 
partisan,  "  but  He  was  a  varra  young  man  when  He 
preachet  that  sermon."  Our  modern  partisans  are  as 
bad  when  they  try  to  underrate  the  great  thinkers  of 
the  past  by  saying,  "Then  the  world  was  young." 

Always  and  ever  are  these  men  worthy  of  study. 
They,  in  their  loving  trustfulness  and  loyalty  to  the 
truth,  were  led  by  the  spirit  of  God,  who  guides  into 
all  truth.  Succeeding  study  may  modify,  cast  other 
light  upon  these  truths,  and  thus  remove  the  human 
imperfections  which  cling  to  the  essentials,  but  these 
men  will  ever  be  masters  of  assemblies  and  from  their 
storehouses  the  Church  will  draw  its  wealth.  The 
masters  of  Protestanism  are  not  yet  outgrown,  nor 
are  their  contributions  to  truth  to  be  lightly  cast  away. 

It  is  not  so  much  our  purpose  to  dwell  upon  Luther 
as  to  call  to  remembrance  these  princes  and  laymen 
without  whom  the  Reformation  would  not  have  been 
estabished,  who  are  great  also,  but  not  so  pre-emi- 
nently great  as  this  colossal  Luther.     It  has  seemed 


66  LIFE    AND    WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

good  to  us  on  this  anniversay  to  take  for  our  subject, 
The  Diet  of  Speyer,  where  men  were  first  called 
Protestants,  to  study  what  sort  of  men  they  were,  why 
they  felt  it  necessary  to  protest,  and  then  ask  ourselves 
whether  Protestantism  was  needed  in  those  days,  and 
is  it  needed  now?  The  theme  is  therefore,  "The  Diet 
of  Speyer ;  The  Rise  and  Necessity  of  Protestantism." 
Two  Diets  are  pre-eminent  in  the  Reformation  era,  the 
Diet  of  Worms,  the  Diet  of  Augsburg.  These  over- 
shadow the  others.  The  Diet  of  Worms  is  the  most 
attractive,  for  the  central  figure  is  heroic  in  utterance 
and  bearing,  Luther,  the  monk  of  Wittenberg,  solitary, 
against  emperor,  ecclesiastics,  potentates  and  princes, 
yet  fearless  to  utter  words  of  truth  that  may  cost  him 
his  life,  loyal  to  conscience  and  the  word  of  God.  It 
is  the  man  on  whom  we  look.  "Here  I  stand,  I  can  do 
no  other.  God  help  me."  Principles  find  voice  in  the 
man.  The  Reformation,  humanly  speaking,  depends 
upon  the  loyalty  of  Luther  to  the  truth.  Unquestion- 
ably great !     A  hero. 

At  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  there  are  men,  but  no  cen- 
tral, overpowering  person.  Here  principles  precede 
men.  Confession  is  made  of  doctrines  and  interest 
centers  in  that  immortal  document,  the  Confession  of 
Augsburg.  Truth  has  been  proclaimed  and  taught  so 
clearly  that  she  no  longer  depends  upon  one  man  to 
vindicate  her  and  in  so  doing  be  forever  heroic  and 
sublime.  She  has  spoken,  and  princes  and  common 
people  have  heard  and  understood  her  message. 

In  between  these  two  great  Diets,  the  product  of  the 
first  and  the  parent  of  the  second,  is  a  third,  the  Diet 
of  Speyer.  D'Aubigne  eloquently  says  that  "Speyer 
and  Augsburg  are  names  that  shine  forth  with  more 
immortal  glory  than  Marathon.  Pavia  or  Marengo. 
They  open  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  mankind.  The 
transition  from  the  middle  ages  to  modern  times  is 
here." 

It  will  be  needful  for  clear  comprehension  to  hastily 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  67 

review  the  events  between  the  Diet  of  Worms,  1521, 
and  the  Diet  of  Speyer,  1529.  Luther,  after  his  mag- 
nificent confession  at  Worms,  is  declared  an  outlaw. 
The  friendly  capture  and  subsequent  imprisonment  in 
Wartburg-  Castle  preserve  him  from  arrest  and  vio- 
lent death.  In  this  brief  period  of  captivity  political 
complications  arose  which  gave  the  nascent  Reforma- 
tion cessation  from  oppression  and  time  in  which  to 
extend  itself  and  gather  strength  for  battle. 

The  age  of  the  Reformation  is  the  age  of  great 
men.  Seldom  has  there  been  a  period  in  which  so 
many  splendidly  endowed  men  have  been  grouped 
together.  Charles  V,  Francis  I,  Henry  VIII, 
Solyman  the  Magnificent,  Leo  X,  are  the  prom- 
inent rulers.  Luther,  Melanchthon,  Zwingli,  CEco- 
lampadius.  Erasmus,  Cranmer,  the  theologians.  It 
is  the  era  of  great  artists,  Raphael.  Michael  Angelo, 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  and  a  host  of  others.  Navigators 
and  discoverers,  like  Columbus,  Vasco  da  Gama, 
Cabot,  penetrate  with  their  frail  shallops  across  the  un- 
traversed  deeps  to  unknown  worlds.  Inventors 
abound,  whilst  a  host  of  men  who  would  have  been 
considered  great  at  any  other  period  crowd  the  stage 
of  action. 

The  great  monarchs  were  so  evenly  balanced  by 
their  abilities  and  resources  that  in  their  wars  they 
needed  the  goodwill  of  all  their  subjects,  and  thus 
perforce  protected  even  the  adherents  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. Under  this  enforced  protection  they  increased 
mightily.  After  the  Diet  of  Worms,  1521,  Luther  was 
indeed  under  the  ban  of  the  empire,  but  upon  his  re- 
turn from  the  Wartburg,  remained  peacefully  in  Wit- 
tenberg, where  he  continued  his  herculean  labors  as 
a  preacher,  teacher,  author.  "The  Council  of  Regency, 
who  managed  the  government  in  the  absence  of  the 
emperor,  steadily  declined  to  adopt  measures  to  ex- 
tirpate the  Lutherans.  The  ground  was  taken  that  the 
religious  movement  was  too  much  a  matter  of  con- 


68  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

science;  it  had  taken  root  in  the  minds  of  too  great  a 
number  to  allow  its  suppression  by  force ;  an  attempt 
to  do  so  would  breed  disturbances  of  a  dangerous  char- 
acter." 

The  arms  and  policy  of  Charles  V  were,  how- 
ever, successful.  In  the  disastrous  battle  of  Pavia, 
February  25,  1523,  Francis,  his  great  rival,  was  cap- 
tured and  his  army  almost  annihilated.  Francis,  cap- 
tive in  Spain,  anxious  to  return  to  his  beloved  France, 
concluded  (with  mental  reservation  however)  the 
peace  of  Madrid  with  the  emperor,  and  thus  Charles, 
freed  from  entangling  wars,  could  devote  his  atten- 
tion to  the  religious  condition  of  Germany.  A  Diet 
was  called  at  Speyer,  June  25,  1526,  through  which 
Charles,  a  haughty  victor,  determined  to  crush,  using 
his  own  words,  "the  abominable  pest  of  Wittenberg." 

To  the  astonishment  of  all,  the  evangelical  princes 
showed  unexpected  firmness  and  strength.  They  came 
forward,  cheerful  and  composed,  surrounded  by  the 
ministers  of  God's  word.  They  asked  for  places  of 
worship,  and  when  indignantly  refused  by  the  Bishop 
of  Speyer,  held  services  in  the  halls  of  their  palaces. 
These  were  attended  by  immense  crowds.  The  cathe- 
dral, despite  the  attractions  of  its  imposing  services  and 
the  presence  of  King  Ferdinand  and  the  Catholic 
potentates  with  their  gorgeous  retinues,  was  deserted 
by  the  common  people. 

The  result  of  the  Diet  after  months  of  deliberation, 
was  the  promulgation  of  a  decree  by  which  the  ban  of 
the  empire  was  put  upon  the  Reformers,  their  writings 
and  their  adherents.  But  the  hour  of  persecution 
was  not  yet  come.  Pope  Clement  VII,  hardy,  war- 
like, ambitious,  formed  the  Holy  League  against 
Charles.  He  drew  into  it  the  Venetians  and  Francis 
of  France,  and  immediately  declared  war.  Charles  at 
once  counseled  mildness,  and  approached  the  evangel- 
ical princes  with  great  promises,  that  he  might  secure 
their  support.     The  first  Diet  of  Speyer,  therefore, 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  69 

ended  in  a  decree  of  toleration  whereby  each  State 
was  permitted  to  behave  on  its  own  territory  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  be  able  to  render  an  account  to  God 
and  the  emperor.  On  June  25,  1528,  a  treaty  between 
the  emperor  and  the  pope  was  concluded  at  Barcelona, 
based  on  the  destruction  of  heresy,  and  in  November 
a  Diet  was  convoked  to  meet  at  Speyer  on  February 
21,  1529.  The  Catholic  princes,  both  spiritual  and 
lay,  were  equally  determined  to  crush  the  Reforma- 
tion. They  preponderated  in  the  Diet.  Out  of  nine 
electors,  five  spiritual  and  three  lay  were  Catholic. 
The  greatest  of  all  in  power,  John  the  Constant,  of 
Saxony,  was  the  only  elector  in  favor  of  Luther's  doc- 
trine. It  may  be  said,  however,  that  what  they  lacked 
in  numbers  was  made  up  by  the  character  of  the  men 
who  were  Lutherans, 

They  were  men  grounded  in  the  faith,  noble  in  their 
lives,  ready  to  yield  all,  riches,  power,  position,  life 
rather  than  the  truth.  It  was  at  Augsburg,  a  year  later, 
that  the  Elector  of  Saxony  replied  thus  to  Melanch- 
thon's  objection  to  his  signature  to  the  Confession,  lest 
it  should  bring  him  into  danger :  "God  forbid  that  you 
should  exclude  me.  I  am  resolved  to  do  my  duty  with- 
out being  troubled  about  my  crown.  I  desire  to  con- 
fess the  Lord.  My  electoral  hat  and  robes  are  not  so 
precious  to  me  as  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Philip  of  Hesse,  ardent,  bold,  intelligent,  a  man  of 
the  sword,  thus  declared  the  depth  of  his  convictions 
when  he  said  to  the  Elector  John,  "As  for  me,  I  would 
rather  die  than  renounce  the  word  of  God  and  allow 
myself  to  be  driven  from  the  throne." 

"If  the  honor  of  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ  requires  it  I 
am  ready  to  leave  my  goods  and  life  behind  me ;"  and 
wrote  his  name  to  the  Confession  of  Augsburg,  Wolf- 
gang, Prince  of  Anhalt.  "Rather  would  I  renounce 
my  subjects  and  my  states,"  he  added;  "rather  would 
I  quit  the  country  of  my  fathers,  staflf  in  hand ;  rather 
would  I  gain  my  bread  by  cleaning  the  shoes  of  for- 


70  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

eigners,  than  to  receive  any  other  doctrine  than  that 
which  is  contained  in  the  Confession." 

Such  men  are  not  easily  defeated.  They  must  be 
exterminated  to  be  beaten. 

Intense  and  bitter  hostihty  was  displayed  by  the 
Catholics  at  Speyer.  John  of  Saxony  was  visited  by 
none  of  the  chiefs  of  the  other  party.  The  Elector 
and  the  Landgrave  Philip  of  Hesse  were  forbidden  to 
have  the  gospel  preached  in  their  palaces.  Faber,  the 
Catholic,  preached,  "The  Turks  are  better  than  the 
Lutherans,  for  they  fast  and  these  do  not."  He  even 
went  so  far  as  to  say  if  he  had  his  choice  he  would 
rather  throw  away  the  Bible  than  the  ancient  errors 
of  the  Church.  A  sentiment  in  substance  repeated  by 
eminent  prelates  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  late 
years.*  The  Roman  party  determined  first,  to  revoke 
the  decree  of  religious  liberty  that  had  existed  for 
three  years  and  revive  the  ban  of  152 1.  It  was  effected 
by  the  imperial  commissioners  declaring  that  the  em- 
peror annulled  it  by  virtue  of  his  supreme  power.  The 
act  was  arbitrary,  without  precedent,  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  the  empire,  despotic.  When  this  was  referred 
to  a  commission,  the  majority  brough  forward  a  reso- 
lution virtually  forbidding  the  progress  of  the  Refor- 
mation in  the  States  which  had  not  accepted  it.  and  at 
the  same  time  giving  liberty  to  Catholics  to  celebrate 
their  rites  with  freedom  in  the  reformed  States  amen- 
able to  no  authority  in  them.  If  this  became  a  law, 
the  Reformation  could  not  be  extended,  the  truth  no 
longer  be  preached,  no  further  conversions  made  in  the 
States  that  were  Catholic,  nor  could  the  Reformation 
be  built  upon  solid  foundations  in  those  States  where 
it  already  existed. 

The  evangelical  princes  might  have  accepted  the  de- 
cree, as  they  were  apparently  left  free  in  the  exercise 
of  their  own  faith,  but,  should  they  suffer  the  word 


*  See  "Our  Country."     Strong.    P.  53. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  71 

of  God  to  be  bound  ?  Should  they  legaHze  the  scaffold 
and  the  stake  for  their  brethren  in  the  faith  in  Catholic 
countries?  "Let  us  reject  this  decree."  said  the  princes. 
"In  matters  of  conscience  the  majority  has  no  power." 

The  majority  pushed  forward  regardless.  A  vote 
was  reached.  By  threats  and  bribes  twenty-one  free 
cities  voted  for  the  resolution,  fourteen  boldly  voted 
against  it.  Said  one,  "We  must  either  deny  the  word 
of  God — or  burn."  They  chose  the  word  of  God,  even 
if  they  burned.  Ferdinand  of  Austria  hastily  and 
haughtily  pushed  forward  the  matter.  He  announced 
to  the  Elector  of  Saxony  and  his  friends  that  they 
must  submit  to  the  majority.  He  did  not  even  give 
them  time  to  deliberate.  When  the  evangelical  princes, 
according  to  custom,  retired  into  an  adjoining  chamber 
to  consult,  he  rose  with  the  imperial  commissioners. 
They  tried  to  detain  him.  His  reply  was,  "I  have  re- 
ceived an  order  from  his  imperial  majesty,  I  have  ex- 
ecuted it.  All  is  over.  Submission  is  all  that  re- 
mains." 

It  is  well  to  recall  the  abitrary  and  despotic  con- 
duct which  produced  the  great  Protest.  It  was  when 
law  was  despised,  the  precedents  of  the  empire  set  at 
naught,  the  rights  of  conscience  trampled  under  foot, 
that  the  Protestants  stood  forth  for  law,  justice,  con- 
science and  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints. 
When  naught  else  was  left  against  arrogant  strength, 
they  resolved  to  appeal.  Therefore  the  elector  and  his 
allies  returned  to  the  common  hall  of  the  Diet,  bringing 
with  them  the  famous  protest  which  has  given  the 
name  Protestant  to  the  Church.  If  this  be  the  begin- 
ning of  schism,  the  fault  is  with  Rome  and  not  with  us. 

The  Protest  is  as  follows  :*  "Dear  lords,  cousins, 
uncles  and  friends !    Having  repaired  to  the  diet  at  the 


*  A  protest  of  the  laity,  it  is  not  quite  certain  whether  a 
theologian  assisted  in  its  construction.  Melanchthon  was 
present,  and  these  clear  sentences  may  have  been  his. 


72  LIFE   AND    WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

summons  of  his  majesty  and  for  the  common  good 
of  the  empire  and  Christendom,  we  have  heard  and 
learnt  that  the  decisions  of  the  last  diet  concerning 
our  holy  Christian  faith  are  to  be  repealed,  and  that 
it  is  proposed  to  substitute  for  them  certain  restrictive 
and  onerous  resolutions. 

"King  Ferdinand  and  the  other  imperial  commis- 
saries, by  affixing  their  seal  to  the  last  Recess  of 
Speyer,  had  promised  however,  in  the  name  of  the 
emperor,  to  carry  out  sincerely  and  inviolably  all  that 
it  contained  and  to  permit  nothing  that  was  contrary 
to  it.  In  like  manner,  also,  you  and  we,  electors, 
princes,  prelates,  lords  and  deputies  of  the  empire, 
bound  ourselves  to  maintain  always  and  with  our 
whole  might  every  article  of  that  decree. 

"We  cannot,  therefore,  consent  to  its  repeal.  Firstly, 
because  we  believe  that  his  imperial  majesty  (as  well 
as  you  and  we)  is  called  to  maintain  firmly  what  has 
been  unanimously  and  solemnly  resolved. 

"Secondly,  because  it  concerns  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  salvation  of  our  souls,  and  that  in  such  matters 
we  ought  to  have  regard  above  all,  to  the  command- 
ment of  God,  who  is  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords ; 
each  of  us  rendering  Him  an  account  for  himself, 
without  caring  the  least  in  the  world  about  majority 
or  minority. 

"We  form  no  judgment  on  that  which  concerns  you, 
most  dear  lords ;  and  we  are  content  to  pray  God 
daily  that  He  will  bring  us  all  to  unity  of  faith,  in 
truth,  charity  and  holiness  through  Jesus  Christ,  our 
throne  of  grace  and  our  only  mediator. 

"But  in  what  concerns  ourselves,  adhesion  to  your 
resolution  (and  let  every  honest  man  be  judge  !)  would 
be  acting  against  our  conscience,  condemning  a  doc- 
trine that  we  maintain  to  be  Christian  and  pronouncing 
that  it  ought  to  be  abolished  in  our  states,  if  we  could 
do  so  without  any  trouble.  This  would  be  to  deny  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  reject  His  holy  word,  and  thus 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  73 

give  Him  just  reason  to  deny  us  in  turn  before  His 
Father,  as  He  has  threatened. 

What!  We  ratify  this  edict!  We  assert  that  when 
almighty  God  calls  a  man  to  His  knowledge,  this  man 
cannot  however  receive  the  knowledge  of  God !  Oh ! 
of  what  deadly  backslidings  should  we  not  thus  be- 
come the  accomplices,  not  only  among  our  own  sub- 
jects, but  also  among  yours!  For  this  reason  we  re- 
ject the  yoke  that  is  imposed  upon  us. 

"Moreover,  the  new  edict  declaring  the  ministers 
shall  preach  the  gospel,  explaining  it  according  to  the 
writings  accepted  by  the  holy  Christian  Church :  we 
think  that,  for  this  regulation  to  have  any  value,  we 
should  first  agree  on  what  is  meant  by  the  true  and 
holy  Church ;  how,  seeing  that  there  is  great  diversity 
of  opinion  in  this  respect ;  that  there  is  no  sure  doc- 
trine but  such  as  is  conformable  to  the  word  of  God ; 
that  the  Lord  forbids  the  teaching  of  any  other  doc- 
trine; that  each  text  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  ought  to 
be  explained  by  other  and  clearer  texts ;  that  this  holy 
book  is  in  all  things  necessary  to  the  Christian,  easy  of 
understanding  and  calculated  to  scatter  the  darkness ; 
we  are  resolved,  with  the  grace  of  God,  to  maintain 
the  pure  and  exclusive  preaching  of  His  holy  word, 
such  as  is  contained  in  the  biblical  books  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  without  adding  anything  thereto 
that  may  be  contrary  to  it.  This  word  is  the  only 
truth ;  it  is  the  sure  rule  of  doctrine  and  of  all  life,  and 
can  never  fail  or  deceive  us.  He  who  builds  on  this 
foundation  shall  stand  against  all  the  powers  of  hell, 
whilst  all  the  human  vanities  that  are  set  up  against  it 
shall  fall  before  the  face  of  God. 

"For  these  reasons,  most  dear  lords,  uncles,  cousins 
and  friends,  we  earnestly  entreat  you  to  weigh  care- 
fully our  grievances  and  motives.  If  you  do  not  yield 
to  our  request,  we  Protest  by  these  presents,  before 
God,  our  only  Creator,  Preserver,  Redeemer  and 
Saviour,  and  who  will  one  day  be  our  judge,  as  well 


74  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES    S.   ALBERT 

as  before  all  men  and  all  creatures,  that  we,  for  us  and 
our  people,  neither  consent  nor  adhere  in  any  manner 
whatsoever  to  the  proposed  decree,  in  anything  that 
is  contrary  to  God,  to  His  holy  word,  to  our  right  con- 
science, to  the  salvation  of  our  souls  and  to  the  last 
decree  of  Speyer." 

Such  are  the  admirable  words  of  these  defenders  of 
the  truth,  weighty  in  wisdom  and  far-reaching  in  re- 
sults beneficial  to  the  world.  They  breathe  throughout 
unaffected  piety,  devotion  to  God,  faith  and  consecra- 
tion, deep  knowledge  of  the  truth,  rich  comprehension 
of  doctrine.  They  protest  against  two  abuses  of  man 
in  matters  of  faith ;  the  first  is  the  intrusion  of  the 
civil  magistrate,  the  second  the  arbitrary  authority  of 
the  Church.  Instead  of  these  abuses,  Protestanism 
sets  the  power  of  conscience  above  the  magistrate ;  the 
authority  of  the  word  of  God  above  the  visible  Church. 

We  must  obey  God  rather  than  man.  The  Lord 
Jesus  rather  than  lords  of  the  earth.  All  human  teach- 
ing must  be  subordinate  to  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

There  has  arisen  in  our  day  the  question  whether 
Protestantism  was  necessary  then.  And  many,  lament- 
ing schism  in  the  Church,  are  convinced  that  it  was  en- 
tirely unnecessary. 

It  depends  upon  the  reply  we  are  ready  to  give  to 
questions  like  these.  Were  there  evils  of  practice  and 
errors  of  doctrine  then?  If  there  were,  was  the 
Romish  Church  willing  to  correct  these?  If  there  were 
and  she  protected  and  nourished  them,  Protestantism 
became  a  necessity.  Against  evil  and  error  protest 
must  ever  be  made.  Every  prophet  of  the  Jewish 
Church  was  a  protestant  against  the  corrupt  practices 
and  false  teachings  of  the  priesthood.  Our  Lord  was 
emphatically  a  protestant,  for  it  was  His  daily  work 
to  protest  against  the  evils  which  the  traditions  and 
teachings  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  had  brought 
upon  the  Church,  to  denounce  their  lives  and  their  cor- 
ruption, and,  as  a  protestant,  positively  to  explain  the 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  75 

Scriptures  of  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  Paul,  the 
greatest  apostle,  was  a  protestant  against  the  Judaism 
of  some  of  the  early  Christians,  and  under  his  leader- 
ship the  Christian  Church  came  out  out  of  the  Jewish, 
for  truth  confessed  is  better  than  uniformity.  Him 
Luther  followed,  and  out  of  the  storehouse  of  his 
epistles  drew  the  doctrines  against  that  Church  which 
had  almost  stifled  Christianity  by  its  legalism,  Judaic 
spirit  and  dreadful  corruptions. 

These  men  of  Speyer  could  do  naught  else.  There 
was  no  other  resource,  if  they  would  be  faithful  to 
the  word  of  God  and  their  conscience.  They  were 
asking  that  a  General  Council  might  be  convened, 
which  should  consider  the  state  of  the  Church.  This 
was  steadily  denied  them.  Then,  as  ever  since,  Italy, 
one  land,  ruled  the  Church  which  claims  to  be  Cath- 
olic. 

In  the  diet  w^e  consider  they  were  robbed  of  their 
rights,  arbitrarily  and  despotically.  Would  any  sober- 
minded  man  claim  that  they  were  to  yield  everything 
to  the  Catholics,  to  act  against  their  conscience,  to  con- 
demn a  doctrine  that  they  maintained  to  be  Christian? 
Were  they  to  desert  shamelessly  their  brethren  in  the 
faith,  permit  their  own  dominions  to  be  filled  with  a 
designing  and  crafty  priesthood,  amenable  to  no  law? 
They  could  do  nothing  but  protest. 

Otherwise,  it  would  have  meant  that  they  acknowl- 
edged the  right  of  the  civil  power  to  exalt  itself  above 
God,  to  stifle  the  voice  of  truth  and  the  dictates  of 
conscience.  Religious  freedom  would  have  been  im- 
possible and  religious  corruption  the  inevitable  con- 
sequence. 

It  would  have  meant  that  God's  word  should  be 
bound,  that  human  traditions  and  errors,  with  all  their 
dreadful  train  of  evils,  religious  ignorance,  false  meth- 
ods of  salvation,  legalism,  should  be  permited  to  rest 
their  unbearable  yoke  upon  men. 

Therefore,  thev  could  sav  no  other  than  thev  did 


76  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

say.  If  you  do  not  yield  to  our  request,  we  protest  by 
these  presents  before  God  that  we  neither  consent  nor 
adhere  in  any  manner  whatsoever  to  the  proposed  de- 
cree in  anything  that  is  contrary  to  God,  to  His  holy 
word,  to  our  right  conscience,  to  the  salvation  of  our 
souls.  Liberty  of  thought  and  conscience  were  then 
conquered  for  ages  to  come.  Men  in  every  quarter 
beheld  in  it  not  a  mere  political  event,  but  a  Christian 
action,  and  the  youthful  electoral  prince,  John  Fred- 
eric, in  this  respect  the  organ  of  his  age,  cried  to  the 
Protestants  of  Speyer:  "May  the  Almighty,  who  has 
given  you  grace  to  confess  energetically,  freely  and 
fearlessly,  preserve  you  in  that  Christian  firmness  until 
the  day  of  eternity." 

It  has,  however,  been  maintained  that  Protestantism 
is  negative  and  its  tendency  is  to  skepticism.  It  is 
crafty  warfare  to  seek  thus  to  blind  men  to  the  real 
issues  concerned,  to  represent  Protestantism  as  protest 
perpetually  against  truth,  not  as  protest  against  error. 
Protestantism  is  positive,  aggressively  so.  Without 
it  skepticism,  then  abounding  among  the  dignitaries  of 
the  Church,  would  have  pervaded  all  Christendom. 
It  saved  even  the  Catholic  Church,  reformed  that  and 
raised  up  in  its  ranks  men  loving  righteousness. 

It  is  pre-eminently  positive  and  aggressive  in  this 
famous  protest  of  Speyer.  It  offers  truth  to  build 
upon.  It  laid  down  positive  principles.  It  places  be- 
fore all  men  the  word  of  God,  as  it  is  contained  in  the 
biblical  works  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  main- 
taining that  it  is  the  sure  rule  of  all  doctrine  and  of  all 
life  and  can  never  fail  us  or  deceive  us. 

On  this  it  stands,  securely  and  firmly  over  against 
human  additions  to  the  word  as  in  the  Romish  Church, 
on  the  one  side ;  over  against  all  rationalism  that  would 
make  the  word  of  God  a  human  book,  on  the  other. 
It  rests  on  the  promise  of  the  Lord  with  quiet  con- 
fidence, "Heaven  and  earth  may  pass  away,  but  my 
words  shall  never  pass  away."     The  present  necessity 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  77 

of  Protestantism  lies  in  the  truth  that  is  its  own,  in 
the  saving  doctrine  it  confesses.  So  long  as  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  does  not  admit  these,  so  long 
is  it  vital  that  Protestantism  be  maintained  and  that 
it  be  active  and  aggressive. 

Its  past  history  declares  this.  The  era  in  which 
Protestantism  appears  is  significant  to  the  believer  in 
God's  providence.  The  hand  of  the  Lord  fosters  it 
that  through  it  the  world  might  be  lifted  up  and  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  extended. 

Protestantism  comes  when  the  world  is  to  be 
doubled  in  extent.  The  discovery  of  America  was  as 
though  communication  with  another  planet  had  been 
estabhshed  and  its  territory  acquired.  This  new  world 
is  to  be  the  outlet  for  man's  energies,  the  home  of  a 
new  humanity,  the  theater  for  new  governments  which 
could  have  been  established  in  Europe  only  by  blood 
after  centuries  of  struggle.  This  land  is  kept  in  dark- 
ness until  the  Reformation.  Its  fairest  portion  was 
given  to  Protestant  thought  and  life.  Its  government 
founds  itself  on  the  cardinal  principles  of  the  Refor- 
mation. It  has  remained  Protestant  to  this  day,  and 
under  that  rule  has  become  the  nation  of  the  world. 
A  portion  of  this  new  world  was  occupied  by  the  Cath- 
olics, as  though  to  emphasize  the  necessity  of  protest- 
antism for  the  prosperity  and  well-being  of  mankind. 
Macaulay,  who  certainly  may  not  be  charged  with  un- 
due love  to  the  dogmatic  system  of  Protestantism, 
wrote :  "The  loveliest  and  most  fertile  provinces  of 
Europe  have,  under  her  rule,  been  sunk  into  poverty, 
political  servitude  and  in  intellectual  torpor,  while 
Protestant  countries,  once  proverbial  for  sterility  and 
barbarism,  have  been  turned  by  skill  and  industry  into 
gardens,  and  can  boast  of  a  long  list  of  heroes,  states- 
men, philosophers  and  poets.  Whoever,  knowing  what 
Italy  and  Scotland  naturally  are.  and  what,  four  hun- 
dred years  ago,  they  actually  were,  shall  now  compare 
the  country  round  about  Rome  with  the  country  round 


78  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES   S.   ALBERT 

about  Edinburgh  will  be  able  to  form  some  judgment 
as  to  the  tendency  of  Papal  Domination.  The  descent 
of  Spain,  once  the  first  among  monarchies,  to  the  low- 
est depths  of  degradation ;  the  elevation  of  Holland,  in 
spite  of  many  natural  disadvantages,  to  a  position  such 
as  no  commonwealth  so  small  has  ever  reached,  teach 
the  same  lesson.  Whoever  passes  in  Germany  from  a 
Roman  Catholic  to  a  Protestant  principality,  in  Switz- 
erland from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a  Protestant  canton, 
in  Ireland  from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a  Protestant 
county,  finds  that  he  has  passed  from  a  lower  to  a 
higher  grade  of  civilization.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic  the  same  law  prevails.  The  Protestants  of  the 
United  States  have  left  far  behind  them  the  Roman 
Catholics  of  Mexico,  Peru  and  Brazil.  The  Roman 
Catholics  of  Lower  Canada  remain  inert  while  the 
whole  continent  round  them  is  in  a  'ferment  with  Prot- 
estant activity  and  enterprise.  The  French  have  doubt- 
less shown  an  energy  and  an  intelligence  which  even 
when  misdirected  have  justly  entitled  them  to  be  called 
a  great  people.  But  this  apparent  exception,  when  ex- 
amined, will  be  found  to  confirm  the  rule ;  for  in  no 
country  that  is  called  Roman  Catholic  has  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  during  several  generations,  possessed 
so  little  authority  as  in  France."  "Exception,"  says 
Fisher,  "may  be  taken  to  some  particulars  in  the  fore- 
going extract;  but  still  the  spectacle  of  the  physical 
power,  the  industry  and  thrift,  the  intelligence,  good 
government  and  average  morality  of  the  Protestant 
nations  is  in  the  highest  degree  significant  and  impres- 
sive." 

"In  our  country,"  writes  Freeman  Clarke,*  "the 
cities  most  difficult  to  manage  are  those  where  the 
Catholic  population  is  most  numerous,  for  it  is  the 
principle  of  the  Church  to  deny  her  members  educa- 
tion, and  they  lack  the  intelligence  which  is  so  neces- 


*  "Christianity  and  Modern  Thought,"  p.  45. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  79 

sary  to  the  continuance  of  our  free  government.  We 
do  not  make  the  charge  wantonly,  but  simply  point  to 
Ireland,  Italy  and  Spain  as  witnesses  to  the  ignorance 
which  she  imposes  upon  her  people."  In  Italy  73  per 
cent,  in  Spain  80,  in  Mexico  93  are  illiterate.  "Her 
theology  teaches  that  education  might  lead  them  into 
heresy  and  so  take  them  out  of  the  true  Church,  and 
that  ignorance  in  the  Church  is  infinitely  better  than 
any  amount  of  intellectual  and  moral  culture  out 
of  it." 

There  can  be  no  question  that  the  doctrine  of  Prot- 
estantism of  the  right  of  private  judgment  is  favorable 
to  civil  liberty.  It  is  this  habit  of  mind  which  is  pro- 
ductive of  personal  independence  and  self-government 
without  which  political  freedom  is  impossible.  The 
results  of  these  centuries  declare  that  the  free  nations 
were  first  Protestant  nations.  With  them  constitu- 
tional freedom  was  first  inaugurated.  They  have 
shown  the  highest  self-restraint  in  political  afifairs 
and  have  grappled  with  intelligence  the  government 
by  the  people  for  the  people.  To  name  the  freest 
nations  of  the  world  would  be  to  name  almost  without 
exception  the  Protestant  nations,  and  from  them  has 
the  influence  gone  which  now  leavens  Catholic  lands, 
and  inspires  them  with  desire  for  constitutional  free- 
dom. 

Towards  this  the  desire  to  educate  the  people  has 
been  a  great  factor.  Education  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary as  Protestantism  seeks  to  put  the  Bible  in  every 
man's  hand  and  train  his  faculties  so  that  he  may 
rightly  judge  its  teachings. 

The  marvelous  advances  of  knowledge  in  our  mod- 
ern times  date  from  the  Reformation  and  are  most 
conspicuous  in  Protestant  lands.  "Modern  science, 
with  the  great  names  of  Bacon  and  Newton,  Descartes 
and  Leibnitz,  Goethe  and  Humboldt,  is  the  legitimate 
child  of  Protestant  theology."  It  would  be  valuable 
to  trace,  had  we  the  time,  the  fatal  blight  which  under 


80   '         LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

the  Romish  Church  has  fallen  upon  the  literature 
of  Spain  and  Italy.  Were  we  to  give*  the  list  of  the 
books  which  are  in  its  Index  Librorum  Prohibitorum, 
we  would  be  astonished  at  the  names  and  works  there 
recorded,  and  discover  how  careful  Rome  is  to  give 
her  people  nothing  which  may  enlarge  their  ideas,  or 
permit  them  to  consider  the  claims  of  Protestantism. 
On  the  other  hand,  wherever  there  is  a  Protestant 
country,  there  literature  has  flourished,  there  thought 
has  been  quickened  and  the  people  inspired  with  de- 
sire for  knowledge.  Let  me  quote  from  D611inger,f 
the  Old  Catholic:  "Meanwhile,  speaking  of  Germany, 
the  numerical  proportion  of  the  members  of  the  differ- 
ent Churches  is  not  the  main  point.  Far  more  im- 
portant is  the  relative  proportion  of  powers  and  capa- 
bilities which  can  neither  be  counted  nor  weighed ;  and 
this  leads  to  the  observation  that  in  Germany  the  over- 
whelming preponderance,  or  rather  domination,  in  sci- 
ence and  literature,  is  on  the  Protestant  side.  Our 
belles-lettres  and  nearly  all  our  scientific  literature,  if 
we  except  some  medical  works,  is  almost  entirely 
Protestant.  In  theology  especially  the  disproportion  is 
so  great  that  the  Protestant  theology  is  at  least  six  times 
richer  than  the  Catholic  in  quantity  and  quality.  The 
main  cause  of  this  is  unquestionably  to  be  found  in  the 
former  condition  of  the  Catholic  schools  and  univer- 


*  On  the  Index  Librorum  Prohibitorum  (1870)  are  the 
names  of  such  historians  as  Hallam,  Burnet,  Hume,  Gibbon, 
Mosheim,  Sismondi,  Bayle,  Prideaux,  Botta,  Sarpi,  Ranke;  of 
such  philosophical  writers  as  Malebranche,  Spinoza,  Kant, 
Locke,  Bacon,  Descartes,  Whately,  Cousin ;  of  publicists  like 
Montesquieu  and  Gutius ;  of  eminent  poets  as  Ariosto  and 
Milton.  The  writings  of  the  Reformers,  Protestant  versions 
of  the  Bible,  all  Protestant  catechisms,  creeds,  publications  of 
synodical  acts,  of  conferences  and  of  disputations,  liturgies ; 
also  dictionaries  and  lexicons — like  the  lexicon  of  Stephanus — 
unless  they  have  been  previously  purged  of  heretical  pas- 
sages, are  prohibited  en  masse. — Fisher,  "History  of  Refor- 
mation." 

t  "Lectures  on  the  Reunion  of  the  Churches,"  p.  36. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  81 

sities;  in  the  oppressive  Latin  influence  fatal  to  intel- 
lectual life,  which  lav  like  a  dead  weight  on  the  culture 
and  education  of  Catholic  countries,  and  the  defective 
character  of  the  schools  entrusted  to  a  foreign  and  es- 
sentially un-German  order,  which  through  its  system- 
atic neglect  and  contempt  of  the  German  language, 
its  inadequate  classical  teaching  and  its  formal  method, 
failed  to  implant  in  its  scholars  either  the  capacity  or 
the  materials  of  thought,  either  style  or  power  of  ex- 
pression, thirst  for  knowledge,  or  perseverance  in 
seeking  it." 

We  mav  rest  upon  this  testimony  and  find  necessity 
for  Protestantism  in  the  world  to-day,  wherever  men 
value  free  government,  education  and  knowledge. 
That  we  mav  rivet  this  more  firmly,  the  final  proof  is 
found  in  the  famous  Encyclical  Syllabus  of  Pius  IX, 
December  8,  1864.  Gladstone  has  clearly  shown  how 
incompatible  its  declarations  are  with  constitutional 
freedom,  if  its  principles  would  be  enforced,  whereby 
allegiance  to  the  pope  is  held  to  be  higher  even  in  civil 
afiFairs  than  to  the  powers  that  be  of  the  country.  In 
that  Syllabus  the  pope  anathematizes,  "that  the  Church 
has  no  power  to  employ  force."  He  anathematizes, 
"that  men  emigrating  to  Catholic  countries  should  be 
permitted  the  public  exercise  of  their  own  several 
forms  of  worship."  He  anathematizes,  "that  the 
Roman  Pontiflf  can  and  ought  to  reconcile  and 
harmonize  himself  with  progress,  liberalism  and  rnod- 
ern  civilization."  Under  these  and  similar  premises, 
we  perceive  that  civil  and  religious  freedom  would  be 
impossible,  and  that  had  the  Romish  Church  the  power, 
it  might  be  necessary  once  more,  as  at  the  Diet  of 
Speyer,  to  protest  against  her  injustice  and  tyranny. 

Protestantism  is  better  fitted  to  maintain  the  reli- 
gion of  Christ  to-day.  in  this  age  of  search,  inquiry  and 
discovery  of  new  truth,  because  of  its  superior  adapta- 
bility. It  has  been  held  significant  of  the  divine  char- 
acter of  Christ  that  His  teachings  are  neither  local 

6 


82  LIFE    AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

nor  temporary.  They  do  not  belong  merely  to  His 
country  or  age.  The  centuries  have  passed  and  He 
is  as  real  and  living  to  the  men  of  our  day  as  He  was 
to  the  Jew  who  saw  Him  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
or  by  the  sea  of  Galilee.  He  is  for  every  age  and  all 
men.  We  weary  not  of  the  sky  with  its  changing 
clouds,  its  alternations  of  day  and  night,  the  deep  blue 
over  which  the  soft  sunlight  glows,  or  the  brilliant 
firmament  with  the  gleam  of  the  stars.  The  infinite 
is  there,  the  same,  yet  ever  new.  Christ  rises  thus 
before  men,  ever  the  same,  yet  ever  new.  Near  to 
every  man,  yet  beyond  every  man,  depths  below  his 
deepest  thought,  heights  above  the  imagination's  ut- 
most flight. 

So  it  is  with  the  word  of  God.  It  has  a  local  color- 
ing. It  is  for  all  time.  It  remains  the  one  book  which 
has  never  been  outgrown.  Interpretations  change  as 
knowledge  advances,  but,  it  is  seen,  the  book  was  true, 
the  interpreters  were  mistaken. 

Herein  is  Protestantism  strong.  It  builds  upon 
Christ,  divine-human,  the  only  mediator.  Its  material 
principle  is  Justification  by  Faith.  Its  formal  princi- 
ple, by  which  all  doctrine  and  every  confession  must 
be  tested  anew  from  generation  to  generation,  the 
word  of  God.  It  demands  of  every  Christian,  right  re- 
lation to  God  in  Christ.  It  rests  upon  doctrines  that 
are  wrought  out  of  the  word  of  God  alone.  In  these 
are  both  its  conservatism  and  progress,  its  adapta- 
bility, whereby  it  retains  the  truth  of  past  ages,  and 
yet  may  modify  itself  to  harmony  with  knowledge 
gained  through  research  and  study  of  science  and  phi- 
losophy. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  not  flexible  to  the 
same  extent.  It  has  a  tremendous  weight  to  carry  in 
its  traditions,  in  doctrines  without  basis  in  the  word  of 
God,  but  alas !  to  be  held  to  the  bitter  end  because  of 
its  doctrine  of  Infallibility  which  has  sanctioned  them. 
It  cannot  change  or  modify  the  imperfect  utterances  of 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  83 

past  centuries,  and  men.  who  love  truth,  either  cannot 
remain,  or  only  remain  by  suspension  of  judgment  and 
reason,  which  is  fatal  to  religious  life  and  progress. 

The  necessity  of  Protestantism  is  manifest  when  we 
consider  that  through  it  largely  since  its  existence  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  has  been  spread.  There  is  forget- 
fulness  on  the  part  of  many  concerning  the  advance  of 
Christianity  since  its  beginning.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  the  fifth  century  there  were  15,000,000  of 
Christians.  About  that  period  papal  domination  be- 
gins. After  live  centuries,  in  the  year  looo,  there  were 
50,000,000  of  Christians.  In  the  year  1500  it  is  esti- 
mated there  were  100,000,000  of  Christians  after  ten 
centuries  of  Rome,  85,000,000  of  an  increase.  Of  these, 
80,000,000  were  Catholics,  20,000,000  adhered  to  the 
Greek  Church. 

A  little  more  than  three  centuries  and  a  half  have 
elapsed  since  Protestantism  began,  and  in  1887  the 
number  of  Christians  in  the  world  are  450,000,000, 
more  than  four  times  as  many  as  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury. Of  these  the  Roman  Catholics  have  210,000,000, 
the  Protestants  150,000,000,  the  Greek  Church  90,- 
000,000.  The  Catholics  have  increased  130,000,000, 
but  wherever  they  are  their  increase  has  not  kept  pace 
with  the  Protestant  Church  in  this  nineteenth  century.* 
The  successful  and  abiding  foreign  mission  work  of 
the  world  is  Protestant  more  than  Catholic.  Protest- 
antism possesses  the  fairest  of  the  nations,  and  she 
rules  much  more  the  millions  of  the  earth.  There  are 
180,000,000  under  Roman  Catholic  rule,  over  400,- 
000,000  under  Protestant.  The  three  great  branches 
of  Christianity  control  half  the  population  of  the  world, 
but  the  most  powerful  and  progressive  nations  are 
Protestant — England,  Germany  and  the  United  States. 

Therefore,  we  say,  that  for  the  spread  of  Christ's 


*  Dorchester,    "Religious    Progress. 


84  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.   ALBERT 

kingdom  Protestantism  is  necessary.  It  has  quick- 
ened even  Rome.  It  has  possessed  the  earth,  and 
opened  doors  for  the  gospel  into  heathen  lands.  It 
lavishes  treasures  and  men  for  their  conversion.  It 
assimilates  the  culture  and  knowledge  of  modern  times 
and  yet  brings  it  into  obedience  to  Christ,  and,  there- 
fore, we  say  that  naught  would  be  more  disastrous  to 
the  spread  of  Christ's  kingdom  than  the  decline  of 
Protestantism  and  the  rise  of  Catholicism  as  it  is  to- 
day. 

Once  more,  Protestantism  is  the  truest  exponent  of 
Christianity.  It  is  not  said  that  Rome  does  not  pos- 
sess fundamental  doctrines  and  is  not  Christian.  She 
has  great  truth  and  is  a  Church  of  Christ,  but  she  com- 
bines this  truth  with  dangerous  errors.  And  so  long 
as  these  errors  are  held  a  man  cannot  find  satisfaction 
in  her  teachings  and  peace  with  God,  save  as  he  is  in- 
consistent with  her  doctrine,  whilst  her  errors  un- 
checked would  again  bring  the  corruptions  of  the  era 
preceding  the  Reformation. 

That  there  are  members  who  pass  from  the  Catho- 
lic Church  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  God  forbid 
that  we  should  deny,  but  there  is  not  there  the  higher 
truth,  the  deeper  understanding  of  the  word  of  God 
which  Protestantism  has.  Well  has  it  been  said  the 
Reformation,  viewed  in  its  most  general  character, 
was  "the  reaction  of  Christianity  as  gospel  against 
Christianity  as  law."  The  Reformers  could  find  no 
satisfaction  or  peace  in  penances,  mortifications  of 
flesh,  scourgings  and  works  of  their  own  righteousness. 
Sin  crushed  them  to  the  earth.  There  was  no  hope  be- 
fore an  angry  God.  Then,  to  Luther  came  the  word  of 
truth  which  removed  the  darkness,  brought  him  into 
personal  relation  with  Christ  the  Saviour,  and  filled  his 
soul  with  sweet  peace,  "  the  just  shall  live  by  faith." 
They  were  rescued  from  the  yoke  of  tradition  by  the 
clear  teachings  of  the  word  of  God,  and  from  the  un- 
bearable tyranny  of  Rome  by  the  doctrine  of  the  true 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  85 

Church.  We  may  not  yield  these  precious  truths 
which  are  the  very  heart  of  the  gospel. 

In  vain  they  urge  that  Protestantism  is  skepticism. 
Protestantism,  with  its  claim  of  the  right  of  private 
judgment,  does  appear  at  first  sight  to  put  the  inter- 
ests of  religion  in  peril.  "But  this  right  is,  in  another 
aspect,  a  duty ;  this  freedom  imposes  a  responsibility ; 
and  in  relegating  religion  to  the  individual  Protestant- 
ism does  not  call  into  question  the  validity  of  religious 
feelings  and  obligations.  Protestantism  fosters  a 
spirit  of  inquiry ;  but  a  religion  which,  like  Christianity, 
relies  upon  persuasion  and  appeals  to  the  reason  and 
the  conscience,  is  in  the  long  run  profited  by  the  full 
investigation  of  its  claims  and  doctrines,  whatever 
temporary  evils  may  arise  from  the  perverse  or  super- 
ficial application  of  the  understanding  to  questions  in 
the  solution  of  which  moral  and  religious  feeling  must 
have  a  part."* 

A  close  examination  fails  to  disclose  Protestant  na- 
tions more  skeptical  than  Catholic,  but  reveals  a  vigor 
and  strength,  a  breadth  of  knowledge  which  ever  tri- 
umph over  the  adversaries  of  faith. 

There  is  no  time  to  speak  of  other  things.  Three 
hundred  and  seventy  years  ago  the  monk  of  Witten- 
berg, Martin  Luther,  began  the  Reformation,  when  he 
protested  by  his  theses  against  the  abuses  and  corrup- 
tions of  the  Romish  Church.  The  sound  of  the  ham- 
mer which  nailed  the  theses  to  the  door  of  the  Castle 
Church  still  reverberates  throughout  the  world.  The 
truths  he  proclaimed  are  as  essential  now  as  then.  We 
may  not  yield  them.  It  would  be,  to  use  the  language 
of  the  protest  of  Speyer,  "to  condemn  doctrines  we 
maintain  to  be  Christian.  This  would  be  to  deny 
our  Lord  Jesus,  to  reject  His  holy  word,  and  thus  give 
Him  just  reason  to  deny  us  in  turn  before  His  Father, 
as  He  has  threatened."   Like  them,  "we  neither  consent 


*  Fisher,  "History  of  Reformation." 


86  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

nor  adhere  in  any  manner  whatsoever  to  anything  that 
is  contrary  to  God,  to  His  holy  word,  to  our  right  con- 
science and  the  salvation  of  our  souls." 

Beautiful  as  Christian  unity  is,  ardently  to  be  de- 
sired, we  must  obey  God  rather  than  man.  the  truth 
must  be  cherished  before  aught  else.  Like  Luther,  we 
must  say,  "Away  with  all  those  prophets  who  say  to 
the  people  of  Christ,  Peace,  peace,  and  there  is  no 
peace".  We  may  cease  to  be  Protestants  when  in  the 
Romish  Church  errors  are  banished  and  the  truth  of 
Christ  as  written  in  God's  word  accepted.  Then  and 
only  then. 


GENERAL  SYNOD  SERMON 
Hagerstown,  Md.,  June  5,  1895 

Seventy-five  years  ago,  in  this  city  and  in  this 
church,  the  General  Synod  of  the  EvangeHcal  Luth- 
eran Church  of  the  United  States  had  its  birth.  All 
the  Synods  of  the  Church  in  this  country,  with  the 
exception  of  Ohio,  were  represented  by  delegates — the 
Synods  being  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Synod 
of  New  York,  the  Synod  of  North  Carolina,  the 
Synod  of  Maryland  and  Virginia. 

The  Lutheran  Church  at  this  period  was  not  a  strong 
body,  the  estimate  of  its  strength  in  1820  being  170 
ministers,  850  congregations  (many  of  them  mere 
handfuls)  and  35,000  communicants.  It  was  sur- 
rounded by  other  bodies,  strong  and  influential,  whilst 
its  own  power  was  weakened  because  of  its  language, 
and,  to  some  extent,  by  its  religious  customs,  which 
differed  from  its  dominant  religious  neighbors.  This, 
together  with  the  prevalent  skepticism  at  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  and  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, had  caused  the  Lutheran  Church  to  decline  in 
its  fidelity  to  its  confession  of  faith.  There  had  also 
developed  a  Socinian  tendency  in  the  churches  of  the 
New  York  Synod.  It  was  felt  that  the  laxness  in 
doctrine,  the  preponderating  influence  of  other  reli- 
gious bodies,  the  overtures  for  union  from  the  Re- 
formed and  Episcopal  Churches,  threatened  the  very 
existence  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America,  unless 
its  scattered  bodies  could  be  drawn  into  closer  union, 
and  assert  their  faith  in  clearer  and  more  unmistakable 
fashion. 

This  conviction  caused  members  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Synod,  in  sesion  at  Harrisburg,  in  1818,  to  adopt 
measures  looking  toward  a  general  body,  and  to  solicit 

87 


88  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.   ALBERT 

co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  other  Synods.  At 
the  next  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod,  in  Bal- 
timore, 1 819,  there  was,  in  answer  to  its  call,  but  one 
delegate  from  other  Synods,  Rev.  Gottlieb  Shober, 
from  the  North  Carolina  Synod.  There  was  also  a 
communication  from  Pastor  Quitman,  favoring  a  more 
intimate  union  of  the  Synods.  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed, including  Rev.  Gottlieb  Shober,  to  examine 
the  matter,  and  outline  a  plan  as  early  as  possible.  The 
report  of  the  committee  was  accepted  and  adopted, 
and  was  ordered  to  be  submitted  to  the  different 
Synods,  with  the  understanding  that  if  three-fourths 
of  the  Synods  adopted  it,  "at  least  in  spirit  and  essen- 
tials," the  President  of  the  Synod,  Rev.  George 
Schmucker,  D.D.,  was  authorized  to  call  the  meeting 
at  such  time  and  place  as  he  should  determine,  in  order 
to  frame  a  constitution  and  complete  the  organization. 
This  convention  met  in  Hagerstown,  Md.,  October, 
1820,  and  agreed  upon  a  constitution,  substantially 
the  same  as  the  plan  proposed  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Synod.  The  constitution  was  then  returned  to  the 
several  Synods  for  ratification,  and  the  chairman, 
J.  D.  Kurtz,  D.D.,  was  authorized  to  call  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Synod  under  the  constitution,  at  Fred- 
erick, Md.,  October,  1821,  provided  it  was  ratified  by 
three-fourths  of  the  Synods. 

The  men  who  composed  this  first  convention  were 
men  worthy,  by  their  scholarship,  devotion  to  the 
Church,  wisdom  and  piety,  to  inaugurate  this  moment- 
ous movement,  whose  far-reaching  consequences  they 
themselves  imperfectly  realized,  some  of  which  have 
developed  themselves  in  the  three-quarters  of  a  century 
across  which  we  look  back,  some  of  which  are  yet  to 
be  unfolded  in  the  centuries  to  come. 

The  General  Synod  then  formed  has  not  been  per- 
mitted to  realize  the  union  contemplated,  by  which  "the 
members  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  North  America  were  to  be  brought  to  walk  in  the 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  89 

spirit  of  love  and  concord,  under  one  rule  of  faith," 
but  it  has  been  a  mighty  factor  in  the  development  of 
the  Church  toward  a  strong,  consistent  and  essential 
Lutheran  character,  both  in  doctrine  and  worship.  It 
has  stimulated  even  the  Lutheran  bodies  opposed  to  it, 
and  has,  in  various  directions,  been  a  model  to  them. 
It  has  apprehended,  more  and  more  clearly,  the  treas- 
ures of  Lutheran  doctrine  and  life,  ever  growing  into 
surer  consciousness  of  them,  whilst  it  has  kept  itself 
upon  the  Augsburg  Confession,  best  adapted  to  meet 
the  issues  of  this  land  and  era,  steadily  declining  to 
be  bound  confessionally  by  more  than  this.  With  all 
this,  it  has  maintained  a  high  ideal  of  piety,  conscious 
that  that  doctrine  is  alone  powerful  that  sways  the 
heart,  leads  to  personal  life  with  God,  and  is  known 
by  the  activity  manifested  in  the  benevolent  and  mis- 
sion works  of  the  Church. 

It  has  also  sought  to  maintain  a  friendly  relation 
with  those  not  of  its  own  name,  without  sacrificing 
its  own  conception  of  the  truth,  which  it  firmly  be- 
lieves represents  the  truth  of  God  in  accordance  with 
the  Scriptures  more  nearly  than  the  doctrines  pro- 
claimed by  others,  a  truth  for  which  the  Lutheran 
Church  is  set,  for  which  it  is  responsible,  without 
which  the  whole  religious  world  would  be  poorer  in 
the  blessed  knowledge  of  God  and  His  Son,  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  time  in  which  the  General  Synod  was  founded 
was  one  of  laxity  in  doctrinal  fidelity,  and,  in  this  re- 
spect, apparently  one  not  favorable  to  the  union  of 
the  congregations  and  pastors,  since  this  would,  natur- 
ally, afifect  the  doctrinal  purity  of  the  foundation.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  made  the  attempt  at  union  all  the 
more  necessary,  as  it  would  tend  to  curb  individual- 
ism, and  enforce  a  church  consciousness  favorable 
to  a  hearty  acceptance  of  the  truth  for  which  the 
Lutheran  Church  is  set.  Nevertheless,  it  should  be 
said  that  in  the  proposed  plan,  which  eventually  be- 


90  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

came  the  basis  of  union,  it  was  expressly  stipulated 
that  "the  General  Synod,  however,  has  no  power  to 
make,  or  to  demand  any  alteration  whatever  in  the 
doctrines  hitherto  received  by  us."  Nominally,  at 
least,  the  churches  were  faithful  to  the  Confession  of 
the  Lutheran  Church. 

The  life  of  the  Church  evidently  demanded  this 
formation  of  the  General  Synod.  It  was  made  at  a 
crisis  period  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  this 
country.  It  was  made  in  humble  faith,  and  in  reli- 
ance upon  "God,  our  Father,  in  the  name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  under  the  guidance  and  direction 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  word  of  God."  It  at  once 
began  to  outline  a  vigorous,  systematic  and  intelligent 
course  of  action,  which  was  absolutely  necessary  to 
the  great  and  increasing  future  which  we  have  in- 
herited, a  course  of  action  which  for  highest  efificiency 
demanded  a  united  Church. 

Committees  were  appointed  to  form  a  plan  for  a 
seminary  of  education,  to  form  a  plan  for  a  mis- 
sionary institute,  to  form  a  plan  in  aid  to  poor  min- 
isters and  ministers'  widows  and  orphans.  Thus  a 
new  impetus  was  given  to  the  educational,  benevo- 
lent and  missionary  activities,  which  are  absolutely 
essential  to  the  development  and  spiritual  power  of 
the  Church. 

Though,  on  account  of  complications  arising  out 
of  the  peculiar  conditions  of  its  congregations,  and  op- 
positions of  many  of  its  ministers,  the  Pennsylvania 
Synod  withdrew,  yet  the  weakened  General  Synod 
went  on  steadily  with  its  work,  and  established  the 
Seminary  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  where  should  be  taught 
"in  the  German  and  English  languages  the  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  as  contained 
in  the  Augsburg  Confession."  What  the  importance 
of  this  seminary  has  been  to  the  Church  in  this  coun- 
try is  beyond  estimation.  For  many  years  it  v.'as  the 
principal  training  school  for  ministers  of  the  Church. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  91 

It  may  be  said  that  it  is  the  mother  of  many  like  in- 
stitutions, and  it  has  been  a  mighty  power  in  the  de- 
velopment of  Lutheran  consciousness  and  faith. 

There  are  those  who  talk  disparagingly  of  those 
fathers,  because  they  wavered  at  times  in  their  fidel- 
ity to  the  doctrine.  Their  lives  fell  in  a  trying  age. 
Their  Church  was  a  feeble  folk.  The  world  about 
them  was  ignorant  of  Lutheran  life,  thought  and  spirit. 
Against  the  prejudices  they  encountered  sturdy  souls 
well  grounded  in  the  faith  could  present  an  unmoved 
front,  but  weaker  ones  sought  compromises.  Increas- 
ing knowledge  of  our  Church,  resort  on  the  part  of 
others  to  our  treasure-houses,  have  brought  honor, 
and  made  it  easy  for  many  who  might  have  been 
cowards  in  the  hour  of  trial  to  vaunt  their  Luther- 
anism. 

We  have  no  time  to  trace  the  checkered  fortunes 
of  the  General  Synod,  but  we  can  say  that  it  has  been 
the  most  potent  factor  in  the  development  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  in  this  country. 

These  years  have  developed  within  the  General 
Synod  an  increasing  appreciation  and  fidelity  to  Luth- 
eran doctrine,  life  and  worship,  whilst,  at  the  same 
time,  there  has  been  a  wise  apprehension  of  the  truth, 
which  has  avoided  narrowness  of  construction  and 
that  Lutheranism  which  cultivates  fidelity  to  the  past 
by  stifling  the  present. 

It  has  seemed  wise  to  us  to  take  these  words  of  the 
Lord  as  the  basis  of  the  Synodical  sermon  : 

"Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law,  or 
the  prophets ;  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill." 

Jesus  is  considered  by  some  a  radical,  destroying 
mercilessly  the  past.  He  here  puts  Himself  forward 
as  a  conservative  of  the  conservatives.  He  fulfills 
with  reverence  the  past.    He  does  not  destroy. 

These  words  of  Christ  are,  therefore,  rich  in  mean- 
ing for  all  the  ages,  and  are  to  be  observed  by  all  those 
who  would  truly  move  in  God's  ways. 


92  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

A  momentous  change  is  about  to  pass  over  the 
reHgious  expression  of  faith.  He  has  come  whom  all 
the  past  teachings  and  rights  and  ceremonies  fore- 
shadowed. He  is  the  fullness  of  that  which  was  in 
part.  All  that  was  in  it  was  precious  to  Him.  How 
could  it  be  otherwise?  The  religion  of  Judaism  was 
the  work  of  God,  the  Word,  not  as  yet  incarnate,  as 
the  religion  of  Christianity  was  the  work  of  God, 
the  Word  incarnate  in  Jesus.  He  manifested  His  truth 
then  through  lawgivers  and  prophets.  He  manifested 
His  truth  at  last  in  Himself,  Christ  Jesus,  Son  of  man 
and  Son  of  God.  He  could  not  stultify  Himself  by 
destroying  the  old  to  make  place  for  the  new. 

The  Old  and  New  Testaments  are  but  one  scheme, 
and  not  two.  The  one  is  preparation,  the  other  is 
completion.  Through  the  one  the  world  is  made 
ready  that  the  other  may  be  understood  and  received. 
The  Old  Testament  in  its  rites  and  ceremonies  fore- 
shadows that  which  He  shall  do  and  be.  The  Pass- 
over typifies  Him,  the  true  Passover.  The  mediatorial 
types,  in  tabernacle  and  priesthood,  the  writer  of 
Hebrevv's  cogently  shows,  are  fulfilled  in  Christ,  the 
High  Priest,  who  enters,  not  without  the  shedding  of 
blood,  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  the  very  presence  of 
God,  where  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us. 

His  teachings,  whether  His  own  or  those  developed 
by  the  apostles,  are  rooted  in  the  Old  Testament. 
Justification  by  faith  and  atonement  may  be  taken 
as  examples  of  those  developed  by  the  apostles.  The 
two  covenants  are  from  the  same  blessed  God.  He 
founds  them  on  the  same  eternal  truths,  and  He  can- 
not destroy  the  one  to  honor  the  other. 

He  comes  to  fulfill.  The  old  is,  indeed,  in  one 
sense,  to  pass  away;  but  how?  By  being  caught  up 
into  the  higher,  as  the  child's  life  passes  away  by 
being  caught  up  into  the  richer,  stronger,  profounder 
life  of  manhood ;  as  this  weak,  burdened,  earthly  life 
passes  away  by  being  caught  up  into  the  glorious  free 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  93 

heavenly  life  hereafter.  The  child  is  in  the  man,  the 
earthly  life  in  the  heavenly  life. 

How  then  does  He  fulfill?  By  unfolding  the  deeper 
meanings  of  the  teachings  and  rites  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, of  its  Sabbath,  purifications,  sacrifices,  worship, 
righteousness,  faith.  The  form  changes,  but  the  prin- 
ciple remains.  Righteousness  is  unfolded  in  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount.  The  righteousness  and  the  Com- 
mandments are  not  another  righteousness  or  other 
Commandments.  The  least  Commandment  is  precious 
to  Him.  He  does  not  abrogate  the  Commandments. 
He  discloses  the  spiritual  conceptions  that  are  within 
them,  the  priceless  jewels  of  truth,  which  flame  and 
burn  in  the  setting  of  these  Commandments.  Thou 
shalt  not  kill  remains  as  obligatory  as  ever,  but  He 
discloses  that  the  heart  of  it  is  not  to  give  heart-room 
to  the  angry,  vindictive  and  murderous  thought.  He 
truly  keeps  the  command  who  loves  his  neighbor 
and  seeks  his  well  being.  Righteousness  becomes 
spiritual  and  inward.  True  religion  is  heart  religion. 
Whoever  has  it  will  express  it  right  along  the  line 
of  these  old  Commandments. 

He,  by  life  and  death,  gives  fullness,  richness  and 
tenderness  of  conception  to  God  as  Father,  wins  them 
to  God  by  His  love,  grants  them  His  Holy  Spirit, 
makes  possible  by  His  sacrifice  the  righteousness  of 
faith,  "whereby  God  can  be  just,  and  yet  the  justifier 
of  him  that  believeth  in  Jesus."  But  when  men  are 
thus  changed,  then  along  the  line  of  these  Command- 
ments in  reverent  love  they  please  God  the  Father, 
for  the  children  of  the  kingdom  can  show  or  develop 
their  inner  good  along  the  line  of  the  Commandments 
in  reverent  love. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  the  Saviour  teaches  us  our  re- 
lation to  the  past  and  our  attitude  to  the  present,  li 
the  past  of  the  Old  Testament  was  from  Him,  and 
could  not  be  destroyed,  but  must  be  fulfilled,  then  how 
much  more  essential  must  be  the  past  as  imbedded 


94  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

in  the  New  Testament  and  developed  in  the  Church 
in  accordance  with  the  Scriptures,  be  precious  to  Him, 
not  to  be  destroyed,  but  to  be  fulfilled  constantly  by 
His  followers? 

That  is  no  true  Christianity  which  breaks  with  and 
scorns  the  past.  The  men  who  despise  the  work  of 
the  Church,  though  they  profess  to  fall  back  on  the 
New  Testament  in  its  simplicity  for  their  guide,  do 
but  cast  contempt  on  all  the  workings  of  Christ 
through  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Church,  and,  whilst 
professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  do  but  confess  that 
they  are  fools. 

In  Christ's  time  there  were  such,  the  Sadducees, 
who,  in  the  pride  of  worldly  wisdom,  sought  to  deny 
the  truths  of  God's  word.  He  condemned  them  sternly, 
and  publicly  silenced  them  when  they  sought  to  con- 
fuse Him  with  a  difficulty  to  them  in  the  resurrection. 
On  the  other  hand,  Christ  did  not  hesitate  as  openly 
to  condemn  the  Pharisees,  those  who  had  concealed 
the  word  of  God  under  a  load  of  traditions  and  ex- 
planations that  did  not  explain. 

Through  this  word  and  example  of  Christ,  do  we 
not  see  our  course  marked  out?  There  is  a  past  that 
has  authority.  Christ  is  a  historical  Christ,  springing 
out  of  a  historical  and  developing  religion,  Judaism. 
All  the  past  wrought  that  it  might  prepare  for  Christ, 
and  since  Christ  has  come.  He  is  moving  through  the 
centuries,  unfolding  His  truth  in  larger  measure,  in 
and  by  and  through  His  Church.  It  is  matchless  folly 
to  discard  the  Church  of  all  the  ages,  and  cry.  "The 
New  Testament  alone.  Give  me  a  Bible  Christianity. 
Away  with  creeds  and  doctrines."  The  true  EHble 
Christianity  is  that  Christianity  which  has  been  de- 
veloped in  and  through  the  Church ;  which  is,  indeed, 
to  be  verified  by  its  agreement  with  the  Scriptures,  but 
which,  without  the  stress  and  struggle  of  the  Church 
seeking  to  apprehend  the  Master's  teaching,  could  not 
be  known  either  in  the  doctrine  or  the  larger  Christ. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  95 

It  may,  indeed,  be  urged  that  dogmas  "are  more 
or  less  characterized  by  relativity  and  transitoriness, 
that  as  they  originated  in  the  midst  of  great  move- 
ments, in  particular  periods,  in  various  ways  they  ex- 
hibited the  traces  of  the  peculiar  theological  culture, 
the  peculiar  needs  and  defects  of  the  times."  Allow- 
ing for  this  they  do  contain  the  truth,  and  the  funda- 
mental conceptions  of  the  Church ;  and  alone  from 
a  true  understanding  of  the  Old  can  the  Church  go 
forward  to  express  its  conceptions  in  fresh  forms 
and  richer  knowledge. 

The  old  doctrines  and  creeds,  brought  out  of  the 
Scriptures  by  godly  men,  are  as  truly  the  product 
of  the  blood  drops  of  the  minds  and  souls  of  Chris- 
tians as  this  land  is  of  the  blood  drops  of  the  patriot 
heroes.  They  were  men  of  extraordinary  intellect, 
of  deeper  research  in  some  religious  lines  than  men 
of  to-day,  of  profoundest  piety,  and  they  deserve  both 
for  themselves  and  their  teachings  the  profoundest 
respect.  Truth  is  there.  It  may  not  have  been  in 
some  places  fully  apprehended,  and,  therefore,  only 
partially  expressed,  but  with  these  allowances  their 
work  is  eternal. 

If  we  ask  the  question  what  doctrines  that  express 
to  us  powerfully  and  with  some  measure  of  com- 
pleteness the  glory  of  God.  the  Father,  the  Son,  the 
Spirit,  are  the  developments  of  this  boasted  nineteenth 
century,  what  answer  can  we  give?  The  most  vital, 
most  precious  doctrines  of  the  Church  were  wrought 
out  in  the  early  centuries ;  whilst  there  is  another 
effervescence  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  period  of 
the  Reformation.  That  which  our  century  has  con- 
tributed has  been  the  historical  way  of  considering 
Jesus,  and  giving  Him  to  us  in  lifelike  portraiture, 
but  it  has  not  contributed  either  a  saying  or  a  funda- 
mental  doctrine. 

Two  principles  must,  therefore,  guide  us : 

First.  A  profound  study  and  reverence  for  the  old 


96  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

which  is  drawn  out  of  the  word  of  God.  Professor 
Freeman  sagely  says,  "There  is  no  cleft  between 
ancient  and  modern  life."  "In  the  story  of  man's  ex- 
istence 

"  'There  is  no  far  or  near, 
There  is  neither  soon  nor  late.' " 

It  is  one  unbroken  and  still  unfinished  web  of  inter- 
laced cause  and  effect,  influence  and  reaction.  There- 
fore are  we  urged  to  the  study  of  history,  that  record 
of  men's  efforts  to  master  the  problems  of  social  and 
political  life.  If  this  be  true  in  history,  how  much 
more  in  the  Church. 

Novelty  is,  indeed,  attractive.  It  has  all  the  glamor 
of  first  impressions.  A  land  which  we  first  see  on  a 
sunshiny  day  has  all  its  charms  set  forth  in  highest 
liveliness.  The  eye,  enraptured,  wanders  rejoicing 
over  its  beauty  until  it  rests  on  the  distant  hills,  where 
they  fade  away  into  the  stainless  blue  of  the  soft  at- 
mosphere. We  will  need  to  modify  that  impression. 
Life  there  may  reveal  an  ague-breeding  or  pestilential 
air.  Dry  statistics  may  give  us  points  about  climate, 
health,  mortality,  which  may  cause  us  to  pitch  our 
tents  again  on  the  old  home  ground.  The  boasted 
new  of  the  day  is  often  nothing  but  the  forgotten 
graveyard  of  the  past,  that  has  been  cleaned  up  and 
artificially  garnished  to  hide  its  hideousness  from  those 
whom  it  would  betray  to  death. 

The  old  can  be  precious  and  lifegiving  alone  as  it 
is  justly  apprehended.  Jesus,  seeing  what  was  in  the 
old,  made  it  lifegiving,  the  foundation  of  all  progress. 
Modern  criticism  may  sneer  at  the  Old  Testament. 
The  Old  Testament  was  to  Him  the  sword  of  God,  by 
which  He  overcame  the  devil ;  it  was  the  storehouse 
from  whence  He  learned  and  taught  how  Christ  ought 
to  suffer  and  then  enter  into  His  glory. 

To  be  among  the  old  is  not  to  know  it.  To  have 
the  words  by  heart  is  not  to  understand  them.     Even 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  97 

to  live  among  things  is  not  to  understand  them.  The 
dwellers  in  Alpine  scenery  place  their  windows  in  such 
fashion  that  they  may  view  their  cabbages  and  not  the 
glorious  prospect  of  stainless  snow  and  mountain  crags 
in  all  their  awful  loveliness. 

There  is  such  a  thing  as  formal  orthodoxy,  when 
doctrines  which  are  true  are  held,  but  the  truth  is  not 
active.  Men  are  content  to  hold  the  form  of  words, 
but  are  dead  to  the  spirit  thereof.  Congregations  and 
bodies  are  formed  whose  symbols  and  dogmas  are 
correct,  but  whose  Christian  life  is  a  minimum.  Then 
follows  deadness  of  religious  life,  for  which  ortho- 
doxy is  cursed,  though  the  curse  rightly  belongs  to  its 
slothful  adherents.  Then  reaction  sets  in.  The  con- 
scientious seek  other  foundations,  the  evil-disposed  at- 
tack the  Church  w^ith  bitter  gibes.  It  is  despised  and 
shorn  of  power. 

Such  is  the  course  of  history,  as  it  has  been  only 
too  sadly  shown  in  our  own  Church  and  in  England. 
Power  has  come  back  to  them  because  they  truly  re- 
turned to  the  old  truths,  grasped  them  livingly  and 
applied  them  in  living  fashion  to  the  wants  of  their 
age.  Pharisaism  was  very  orthodox  in  its  way  in 
Christ's  time  and  rather  read  Him  out  of  the  Church, 
but  Christ,  despite  their  persecution,  did  not  give  up 
the  old,  but  showed  forth  its  regal  life,  tearing  away 
the  bandages  of  their  traditions,  which,  like  mummy 
bands,  swathed  the  living  truth  and  caused  men  to 
think  her  dead. 

We  need  the  old — we  need  to  study  it  profoundly ; 
but  to  know  the  old  we  must  have  the  spirit  of  Christ. 
He  can  only  comprehend  the  teachings  of  our  creed 
who,  whilst  he  intellectually  grasps  its  doctrines,  comes 
to  them  in  his  religious  experience  as  Luther  did,  a 
poor  sinner,  justified  by  faith,  who  knew  Christ  as 
his  Saviour  and  lived  in  his  precious  companionship. 
The  doctrines  shall  be  soul-satisfying  to  the  reverent 
searcher  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit.     We  shall  find 


98  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

in  them  the  sure  and  lasting  foundations  built  on 
God's  word,  through  God's  Spirit. 

Second.  Fulfillment  means  the  unfolding  of  the  old. 
Christ  was  progress.  There  was  newness  of  thought 
and  life  under  Him.  He  has  so  made  man  that  progress 
is  essential  to  his  joy  and  strength.  There  is  despair 
to  men  where  there  is  no  outlook.  We  must  grow, 
or  die  while  we  live.  Such  is  the  law  of  life  every- 
where in  this  world,  and  so  it  is  in  the  Church.  There 
are  creeds  of  other  faiths  that  are  worn  out.  We 
look  curiously  at  them,  but  do  not  retain  them.  They 
are  exhausted,  as  the  gold  mine  out  of  which  long  ago 
the  treasure  was  dug.  The  old  shafts  are  curiosities, 
but  no  more.  Christianity  is  divine,  because,  whilst 
ever  old.  it  is  ever  new.  The  old  Bible  is  divine,  and 
it  ever  yields  new  treasures.  Christ  is  divine,  and 
who  has  ever  exhausted  Him?  Our  creed,  to  be 
divine,  must  have  ever  the  possibility  of  the  new  as 
well  as  the  old;  it  must  have  capacity  for  develop- 
ment and  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  the  age.  But 
ever  out  from  the  old  that  abides  in  the  Scripture  we 
must  move  to  the  new.  The  ;iew  must  harmonize  with 
the  old. 

The  past  must  not  so  tyrannize  over  the  present  as 
to  exclude  from  it  independent  investigation.  There 
is  a  traditionalism  in  doctrine  that  is  like  Pharisaism 
in  the  Mosaic  law.  Each  age  must  set  forth  the  ever- 
abiding  truths  in  its  own  way.  Each  nation  must  re- 
state its  faith,  not  by  changing  it,  but  by  grasping  it 
lovingly ;  just  as  it  is  not  the  truth  about  Christ  that 
is  salvation,  but  Christ  Himself,  apprehended  and  made 
precious  through  faith  to  each  one.  We  must  welcome 
heartily  the  developing  new.  We  need  it  to  keep  us 
from  stagnation. 

The  new  is  an  evidence  of  thought,  and,  as  such,  a 
gain.  Combine  with  it  the  thoughtful  faith  that  pene- 
trates into  the  depths  of  the  old,  and  we  shall  hold 
the  truths  of  our  Confession  in  deed  as  well  as  in  ap- 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  99 

pearance.     We  shall  possess  them  and  they  shall  pos- 
sess us. 

"A  truth  that  costs  no  thought  wields  no  power. 
Religion  has  more  to  fear  from  unthinking  acceptance 
than  from  hostile  criticism.  When  faith  is  too  familiar 
to  be  thoughtful,  it  lives  by  help  of  the  accidents, 
rather  than  through  possession  of  the  essentials  of 
truth.  There  are  men  who  believe  more  strongly  in 
miracles  than  in  God.  Were  there  no  miracles,  there 
would  be  for  them  no  God ;  for  them  law  only  exists 
by  virtue  of  its  violations.  But  the  great  miracle  is 
the  absence  of  miracles.  It  is  the  universal  order 
that  most  speaks  to  us  of  a  universal  will,  so  reason- 
able in  its  action  as  to  be  everywhere  capable  of 
rational  interpretation.  So  we  need  to  become  less 
familiar  with  the  accidents  of  our  faith,  that  we  may 
the  better  comprehend  its  permanent  facts,  its  funda- 
mental and  eternal  truths.  We  need  to  see  them  out 
of  the  setting  of  custom  and  commonplace,  standing 
out,  as  it  were,  sharp  against  the  background  of  eter- 
nity. To  changed  minds,  things  have  changed  mean- 
ings. Day  by  day  the  Italian  goatherd  may  drive  his 
flocks  across  the  old  Campagna  and  rest  under  the 
shadow  of  some  mighty  aqueduct,  or  on  the  base  of 
some  fallen  column,  without  ever  asking  whence 
they  come  or  what  they  signify;  or  the  Roman  monk 
may  sing  his  matin  or  his  vesper  hymn  within  hearing 
of  the  ancient  Forum  or  majestic  Coliseum,  and  catch 
only  the  echoes  of  his  own  song;  hear  no  voice  speak- 
ing out  of  a  vanished  and  glorious  past.  But  let  a 
man  laden  with  the  treasures  of  ancient  culture  cross 
the  Campagna  and  stand  among  the  ruins  of  the  once 
Eternal  City,  and  his  imagination  is  thronged  with  the 
voices  of  long  silent  orators,  the  songs  of  long  dead 
poets,  visions  of  the  greatest  empire  that  ever  aspired 
to  control  the  destinies  of  men  and  nations.  Day  by 
day  the  Arab  merchant  or  the  Jewish  trader  may 
cross  the  brow  of  Olivet,  see  the  sun  gleam  on  the 


100  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

minarets  of  Jerusalem,  and  yet  only  ask,  'What  is 
new  in  the  bazaars?'  or  'What  goods  for  sale?'  'What 
persons  likely  to  buy  ?'  But  let  a  man  fresh  from  the 
Christian  West,  immersed  in  its  deepest  faith,  cross 
for  the  first  time  the  same  hill,  and,  as  the  Holy 
City  breaks  upon  his  view,  what  thoughts,  what  visions 
possess  him!  Is  this  the  city,  loved  of  God,  where 
David  sang,  where  Isaiah  preached,  where  Jehovah 
reigned?  And  Bethany,  where  art  thou,  the  sweet 
place  where  my  Master  tasted  one  blest  hour  of  human 
love,  ere  He  entered  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death?  And  Gethsemane,  may  I  visit  thee  and  see 
where  His  sweat  fell  in  great  drops  to  the  ground? 
The  scene  is  to  him  transfigured;  the  land  is  made 
holy  by  the  light  under  which  it  lies;  the  history 
which  it  once  beheld  suffuses  its  face  with  imperish- 
able glory. 

"So  the  facts  of  our  religion  must  be  ever  and  anon 
illumined,  if  they  are  to  be  the  vehicles  of  grace  and 
symbols  of  the  light  of  God." 

Let  us  not  be  afraid,  then,  of  progress  on  the  basis 
of  the  old.  If  we  thoroughly  study  the  old,  so  that  we 
know  it,  before  we  attempt  to  condemn  it;  if  we  look 
for  progress  that  fulfills  the  old;  if  we  demand  har- 
mony of  old  and  new,  we  need  have  no  fear  of  the 
future  of  the  Church.  In  it  will  be  the  truth  of  God, 
satisfying  this  and  future  generations  of  men. 

It  was  with  these  principles  that  Luther  began  the 
Reformation.  He  honored  the  old  and  retained  that 
which  did  not  conflict  with  the  Scriptures.  The  Re- 
formed iconoclasts  rejected  it  where  it  was  not  found 
in  the  Scriptures,  and  their  descendants  are  now  pain- 
fully trying  to  reinstate  what,  in  their  rashness,  those 
cast  away.  From  the  old  Luther  went  forth  to  the 
new,  which,  therefore,  has  endured. 

Let  us,  from  such  principles,  consider  our  Church 
on  this  occasion.  There  are  two  extreme  tendencies ; 
the  one  that  would  cling  to  the  past  in  its  anxiety  not 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  101 

to  destroy,  watchful  of  the  minutiae  of  doctrine  and 
practice ;  the  other  that  would  scorn  the  past,  that  has 
no  use  for  the  sixteenth  century  and  the  doctrines 
and  usages  of  the  past,  seeking  to  fulfill,  but  not  over- 
careful  not  to  destroy.  There  is  a  word  that  is  often 
used  that  shows  this — "American  Lutheran."  The 
first  tendency  lays  all  the  emphasis  on  Lutheran,  and 
forgets  that  this  land  of  America  must  express  Luther- 
anism  and  its  doctrines  according  to  its  own  needs 
and  the  questions  of  the  age ;  that  a  religion  which  has 
no  flexibility,  no  adaptability,  is  a  losing  faith.  The 
faith  that  has  no  development  is  preparing  its  own 
grave,  for  it  is  a  dying  body.  The  second  lays  the 
emphasis  on  the  word  "American,"  forgetful  of  Luth- 
eran in  its  distinctive  doctrines  and  peculiarities,  in  the 
anxiety  to  accommodate  itself  to  the  prevalent  senti- 
ment of  the  American  community,  and  thus  forfeits 
its  right  to  bear  its  name,  and  can  have  no  develop- 
ment, because  it  is  a  branch  severed  from  the  stem 
which  gave  it  life. 

The  General  Synod,  rightly  apprehended,  stands  for 
the  truth,  which  includes  both.  It  does  not  destroy, 
but,  in  large  development,  it  would  fulfill.  The  past 
is  precious,  but  the  past  must  be  transmuted  into  the 
living  present,  in  which  every  doctrine  of  our  beloved 
Church  is  understood  with  reference  to  present  life, 
and  fulfilled  by  being  used  in  the  unfolding  of  Christ 
to  the  believer  and  sinner. 

This  appears  to  be  the  reason  why  it  so  stoutly  holds 
to  the  Augsburg  Confession,  but  has  not,  whilst  it  ac- 
cords high  honor  to  the  Formula  of  Concord,  made  it 
the  basis  of  confession.  It  will  study  and  apply  that 
livingly  to  the  Augustana,  but  it  will  not  bind  itself 
to  a  body  of  theology  whose  tendency  is  to  narrow  and 
limit  the  life  which  justly  belongs  to  her,  and  which 
must  have  liberty  to  develop,  if  it  is  to  accomplish  the 
God-given  work  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Sometimes,  no  doubt,  many,  weary  of  the  conten- 


102  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

tions  concerning  doctrines,  impatiently  cry,  "We  are 
tired  of  strife.  The  doctrines  of  salvation  are  simple. 
I  will  hold  forth  Christ,  the  Saviour,  simply ;  that  is  all 
men  need.  These  wordy  battles  I  hand  over  to  the 
contentious,  who,  in  their  strife,  show  little  of  godli- 
ness. I  will  be  practical."  But,  as  Dale  well  says, 
"More  than  once  in  the  history  of  the  Church  it  has 
been  seen  that  a  pietism,  lofty  as  well  as  devout  in 
its  origin,  by  disparaging  intellectual  activity  in  rela- 
tion to  faith,  has  encouraged  feeble  religious  senti- 
mentalism,  has  been  fatal  to  masculine  robustness  of 
Christian  character,  has  made  Christian  men  ineffect- 
ive in  the  practical  duties  of  the  Christian  calling,  and 
has  enfeebled  and  impoverished  their  whole  spiritual 
Hfe." 

The  good  fight  of  faith  is  our  lot.  It  includes  the 
intellect  as  well  as  the  heart.  Christianity  deals  with 
the  whole  man,  body,  soul  and  spirit.  We  cannot  escape 
these  contentions,  for  the  true  expression  of  a  doctrine 
is  vital,  and  is  worth  fighting  for  as  much  as  an  honest 
administration  of  a  great  city  or  the  overthrow  of  a 
great  vice,  and  even  more ;  only  let  us  see  to  it  that 
we  contend  for  the  faith  in  charity  and  justice  to  our 
opponents. 

Neither  must  it  be  overlooked  that  every  true  Chris- 
tian faith  is  a  system.  Accepting  its  cardinal  principles 
to  be  at  peace,  we  must  move  in  step  with  the  develop- 
ment of  these  principles.  Calvinism  founds  itself  on 
the  Divine  Sovereignty,  and  no  man  can  be  contented 
in  Calvinism  who  does  not  heartily  accept  this  doctrine 
and  follow  out  resolutely  its  conclusions.  He  may 
get  along  with  it  by  a  series  of  skillfully  adjusted 
intellectual  compromises,  but  he  is  not  a  tower  of 
strength  as  a  Calvinist. 

The  Lutheran  has  a  central  principle,  "Justification 
by  Faith."  It  has  come  to  be  the  possession  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  because  its  founder,  Martin  Luther, 
under  the  overwhelming  consciousness  of  sin,  fought 


SERMONS   AND   PAPERS  103 

his  way  upward  to  God  througli  Christ  Jesus,  until  his 
storm-tossed  soul,  justified  by  faith  in  Christ,  entered 
the  haven  of  God's  peace.  He  came  from  the  human 
side,  just  as  Calvin  came  from  the  divine  with  his 
thought  of  the  sovereignty  of  God.  And  that  doctrine 
colors  all  the  thought  of  our  Confession.  "The  other 
doctrines  are  not  developed  out  of  this  doctrine,  but 
they  are  stated  so  as  to  harmonize  with  this  doctrine." 
In  a  very  vigorous  article  by  Dr.  Richard,  this  is 
strongly  set  forth.  "The  doctrines  of  man,  of  God, 
of  the  Trinity,  of  the  person  and  work  of  Christ,  of 
regeneration,  of  sanctification,  of  the  means  of  grace, 
of  good  works,  of  the  Church,  all  these  are  shaped 
both  in  their  formal  statement  and  in  their  practical 
use,  by  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith." 

Our  body  of  doctrine,  as  set  forth  in  the  Augsburg 
Confession,  is  a  consistent  whole.  And  it  has  not  been, 
therefore,  a  mere  desire  of  orthodoxy  that  has  caused 
the  defenders  of  the  Church  to  contend  for  a  faithful, 
unqualified  acceptance  of  the  Augsburg  Confession, 
but  the  consciousness  that  it  is  vital  to  her  very  exist- 
ence, and  absolutely  necessitated  by  the  divine  value 
of  the  truth  the  Church  confesses. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  doctrine  of  the  means  of 
grace,  specially  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  has  ever  been 
the  most  difficult  one  to  accept.  It  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at,  since  the  mysterious,  supernatural  imparta- 
tion  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  with  the  bread 
and  wine  is  beyond  our  reason.  The  Lutheran  Church 
here  has  been  compelled  to  maintain  her  doctrine 
against  a  majority  of  Protestants  of  other  names,  who. 
for  the  most  part,  had  rob])ed  the  sacrament  of  all 
its  divine  content,  and  reduced  it  to  a  mere  human  or- 
dinance. It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  many  should 
have  been  bewildered,  and  felt  as  though  in  the  Con- 
fession of  the  Lutheran  truth  there  was  weakness, 
and  that  it  was  akin  to  the  sacramentalism  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.     But  the  defenders  of  the 


104  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

Confession  have  instinctively  felt  that  it  was  funda- 
mental, wrought  out  of  the  truth,  a  truth  needed  for 
our  own  practical  edification,  a  truth  based  on  a  con- 
sistent apprehension  of  the  doctrine  of  Justification  by 
Faith. 

It  is  remarkable  that  this  intuition  of  the  Reformers 
has  received  abundant  justification  by  the  results  of 
the  centuries.  Says  Fairbairn,  in  "The  Place  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  Modern  Theolog-y,"  in  speaking  of  the  con- 
troversies that  arose  among  the  Lutherans  themselves 
as  to  the  Redeemer's  presence  in  the  Lord's  Supper, 
and  the  question  of  the  commimicatio  idiomatum,  and 
the  apparent  bitterness  and  f  ruitlessness  thereof : 
'"Things  are  not  always  as  they  seem.  The  question 
represents  the  great  contribution  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  to  constructive  theology.  The  Incarnation 
has  been  its  problem  as  it  has  been  the  problem  of  no 
other  Church,  not  even  of  the  ancient  Greek.  In 
the  nineteenth  century,  as  in  the  sixteenth,  it  has  tra- 
vailed at  a  scientific  Christology,  though  from  the 
opposite  end  of  the  scale.  It  labored  then  by  endeav- 
oring to  make  the  manhood  capable  of  receiving  the 
Deity ;  but  now,  by  reversing  the  process,  at  making 
the  Diety  capable  of  losing  itself,  though  only  anew 
and  more  gloriously  to  find  itself  in  the  manhood. 
In  all  the  Kenotic  theories  there  are  exaggerations 
and  suppressions  and  mysteries  that  grow  more  mys- 
terious by  being  looked  at;  but  one  thing  they  have 
done — they  have  made  men  to  see  that  the  Incarna- 
tion is  the  symbol  at  once  of  the  highest  mystery  and 
the  highest  truth.  It  holds  the  key  to  the  problem  of 
the  relation  of  God  to  man ;  it  is  that  problem  sum- 
marized, recapitulated,  impersonated.  The  philoso- 
phers who  have  most  strenuously  handled  and  most 
nearly  solved  the  problem,  have  been  sons  of  the  land 
and  the  Church  of  Luther,  and  the  theologians  of  other 
lands  through  the  Incarnation  to  vivify  theology  and 
relate  it  to  modern  knowledge,  are  only  paying  uncon- 


SERMONS  AND   PAPERS  105 

scious  but  deserving  homage  to  the  faith  and  insight 
of  the  Reformer  and  his  sons." 

In  the  development  of  the  General  Synod,  even  great 
and  good  men  have  not  been  absolutely  true  to  the 
standards  of  the  Church.  But  the  General  Synod  has 
never  recorded  itself  against  the  Confession.  Nor 
are  we  to  judge  men  hardly  in  a  transitional  period. 
Theirs  was  a  time  of  storm  and  stress.  They  led  the 
way.  They  did  good  service,  and  if  their  vision  was 
not  as  clear  as  it  should  have  been,  yet  they  saw  and 
made  it  easier  for  those  who  followed  to  see  more 
clearly  the  treasures  of  the  Church. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  trying  ordeals  has  been  the 
subject  of  worship.  Unfortunately  the  Lutheran 
Church  has  never  had  a  form  of  worship  adopted 
by  all.  The  petty  kingdoms,  principalities  and  free 
cities  of  the  sixteenth  century  militated  against  uni- 
formity of  worship.  Whilst  there  was  a  substantial 
agreement  in  the  form  of  worship,  there  were  diver- 
gencies. Transferred  to  this  country  amid  puritanical 
surroundings  and  uncongenial  atmosphere,  the  liturgi- 
cal life  pined  away.  The  return  to  the  original  forms, 
especially  when  the  Lutheran  Church  has  permitted 
liberty  in  the  use  of  forms,  has  been  a  momentous 
matter.  Yet  the  General  Synod  has  striven  to  this 
end,  and  her  hymn  books  witness  to  the  fact  that  she 
is  Lutheran  in  worship. 

In  all  this  matter  we  must  wait  with  patience  for 
the  final  result.  Moderation  must  be  the  watchword 
on  both  sides.  "The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  nor 
drink,  but  righteousness,  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost."  The  appeal  must  be  to  the  Lutheran  life  of 
our  people.  If  our  service  be  a  true  historical  out- 
come of  the  religious  thought  of  the  Church,  then, 
when  we  rightly  apprehend  such  a  service,  as  truly 
setting  forth  the  inner  life.  Nor  must  it  be  overlooked 
that  any  form  which  is  unhistorical.  and  does  not  ex- 
press the  truth  of  our  faith,  is  a  weakness,  and  will 


106  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

eventually  be  disastrous  to  the  growth  of  the  Church, 
if  retained. 

Let  it  not  be  forgotten  whilst  Lutheranism  rests  on 
the  individual  judgment,  places  each  man  face  to  face 
with  God,  makes  every  man  a  priest  unto  God,  it  does 
not  depart  from  the  vivid  conception  of  the  solidarity 
of  the  Church.  It  has  ever  been  conservative.  In  the 
state  it  inculcates  obedience  to  lawful  rulers,  in  the 
Church  it  recognizes  that  we  are  one  body.  As  in  the 
state  the  citizen  yields  his  rights  and  sacrifices  for  the 
good  of  the  community,  so  in  the  Church  the  individ- 
ual or  congregation  must  not  merely  consider  what  is 
pleasant  or  agreeable  to  him,  but,  where  it  is  not  a 
matter  of  conscience,  yield  individual  preference  for 
the  good  of  the  whole.  To  do  otherwise  is  to  simply 
weaken  the  activity  and  strength  of  the  Church  at 
large,  bring  in  elements  of  discord,  instigate  fruitless 
contentions,  to  the  destruction  of  much  good. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  if  the  Lutherans  of 
the  General  Synod  had  but  one  mode  of  worship, 
based  upon  her  doctrines,  the  outcome  of  life,  so  that 
wherever  one  of  her  members  entered  a  church  of 
his  body  the  worship  would  give  him  the  sense  that  he 
was  at  home  with  brethren,  a  worship  that  fitly  ex- 
pressed the  life  and  doctrines  of  his  Church,  it  would 
be  a  vast  gain  in  holding  our  members  faithful  to  their 
own  Church.  Neither  can  it  be  doubted  that  if  we 
were  to  have  one  form  of  worship  in  all  the  Lutheran 
churches  of  the  land,  it  would  be  a  bond  of  union, 
mighty  and  powerful,  helpful  in  the  maintenance  of 
our  beloved  Church,  and  in  the  furtherance  of  her 
God-given  mission. 

As  we  look  back  over  the  past  and  mark  what  has 
been  accomplished  in  these  seventy-five  years,  a  throb 
of  gratitude  must  move  every  heart.  Wonderful  has 
been  the  growth !  Then  the  whole  Lutheran  Church 
of  this  land  numbered  170  ministers,  850  congrega- 
tions, 35.000  communicants ;  now  the  General  Synod 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  107 

alone  numbers  1127  ministers,  1505  congregations, 
180.000  communicants;  the  whole  Lutheran  Church. 
5554  ministers,  9376  congregations,  1,330.442  commu- 
nicants. If  the  foundations  were  laid  by  worthy  men, 
the  sons  of  the  General  Synod  that  are  here  to-day 
are  as  richly  cultivated,  as  profound  in  scholarship,  as 
fervent  in  piety,  as  abounding  in  good  works ;  whilst 
I  cannot  but  feel  that  in  responsiveness  to  the  issues 
of  their  age.  in  sympathy  with  every  godly  movement, 
they  exceed  the  fathers  in  the  exhibition  of  such  qual- 
ities to  their  own  age. 

As  the  reports  of  the  various  Boards  will  be  read, 
you  will  receive  tangible  evidences  of  the  vigor  of  the 
life  that  is  in  the  General  Synod.  India  and  Africa 
will  send  their  voices  of  grateful  love  to  us  for  our 
noble  men  and  women  who  carry  to  them  the  Lord 
Christ,  who  are  supported  by  the  prayers  and  offerings 
of  our  people.  Churches  all  over  this  land,  some  bom 
in  a  day,  will,  trumpet-tongued.  declare  that  since  the 
Lutheran  Church  accepts  her  divine  mission.  God  is 
crowning  her  labors  with  rich  and  even  unmerited  re- 
turns. Side  by  side  with  the  men  of  the  Church  toil 
the  women,  abundant  in  labors,  patient  in  trial,  devout 
in  spirit.  The  young  people  are  working  in  the  ranks 
as  never  before,  their  very  work  arousing  deeper  de- 
votion to  our  noble  Church,  their  mother  in  the  faith. 

The  years  show  a  growing  liberality  on  the  part  of 
the  membership,  not  merely  in  money,  but  in  that 
greater  liberality,  the  offering  of  themselves,  and  in 
the  gifts  of  their  sons  and  daughters  for  the  Master's 
work.  Our  colleges  and  seminaries  have  an  increasing 
host  for  the  home  and  foreign  fields,  whilst  the  young 
women  of  the  Church  are  being  enrolled  as  deacon- 
esses, ready  for  every  call  for  duty  and  compassionate 
love. 

Our  gain  in  power  has  kept  pace  with  our  realiza- 
tion of  and  fidelity  to  our  Lutheran  treasures.  As 
we  have  sought  to  fulfill,  and  not  to  destroy,  the  bless- 


108  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

ing  of  the  Lord  has  crowned  our  labors.    We  are  heirs 
of  great  names,  Hving  ideas  and  a  noble  creed.    But 

"Those  who  on  glorious  ancestry  enlarge 
Produce  their  debt  instead  of  their  discharge." 

Immense  responsibilities  attach  to  us  that  we  faith- 
fully make   known   what   God   has   entrusted  to   us. 

Rich  in  heroes  of  the  faith,  men  like  Luther,  whose 
faith,  words  and  deeds  changed  the  world,  inaugurat- 
ing a  new  era,  it  is  ours  to  be  heroic  in  the  faith. 
Rich  in  precious  doctrines,  whose  truths  are  more 
than  ever  needed  by  the  world,  it  is  ours  faithfully  to 
proclaim  them  to  the  waiting  peoples.  Rich  in  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  wherein,  with  the  affectionate 
confidence  of  children  in  a  father,  the  ministers  of  our 
beloved  Church  have  proclaimed  the  love  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus,  it  is  ours,  more  than  ever,  to  preach  the 
word  of  God  with  the  confidence  of  childlike  faith, 
with  the  conviction  that  through  the  word  we  shall 
prevail,  and  with  the  joy  that  rings  in  the  hymns  and 
words  of  the  fathers.  Rich  in  a  faith  that  lovingly 
lays  hold  on  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  as  children  justi- 
fied by  faith  in  Christ,  it  is  ours  to  show  forth  that 
faith  unto  a  world  alienated  from  God,  lost  and  de- 
spairing through  sin,  until  they  receive  Christ,  and 
become  sons  of  God,  to  live  henceforth  according 
to  the  purpose  of  God,  growing  in  holiness  and  like- 
ness to  Christ.  Rich,  indeed,  but  responsible,  indeed, 
let  us  be  worthy  of  the  trust. 

Gathered  as  we  are  in  session,  whose  decisions,  if 
wise,  may  have  large  issues  for  good,  or,  if  unwise, 
large  issues  for  evil,  it  becomes  us  reverently  to  gather 
in  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  is  in  His  Church, 
a  living  presence,  who  knows  all  that  passes  and  will 
pass  here,  a  potential  presence  in  and  through  His 
Church.  He  is  ready  to  guide,  hallow  and  control 
our  actions,  and  inspire  the  thoughts  and  desires  out 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  109 

of  which  right  actions  come.  Let  us  live  and  act  in 
that  presence.  Let  us  be  men  "in  whose  wisdom  there 
is  no  haste,  in  whose  sympathy  there  is  no  harshness, 
in  whose  judgments  there  is  no  bitterness,  whose  honor 
is  careless  of  popularity,"  whose  great  object  is  to 
further  the  truth,  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  through 
our  belDved  Church. 

Let  us  strive  to  be  faithful  to  the  old,  which  God 
wrought  by  the  mighty  dead,  and  seek  to  destroy 
naught  thereof ;  but,  like  the  Master,  let  us  fulfill  it 
by  seeking  its  inner  meaning,  unfolding  and  enlarg- 
ing it  to  meet  the  wants  of  our  day  and  our  nation. 


THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH 

The  Lutheran  Church  is  an  historic  Church.  It  has 
a  great  past.  A  greater  present  demonstrates  the  vital- 
ity of  its  rehgious  Hfe.  To  a  large  portion  of  our  Amer- 
ican Christians  its  history,  its  numbers,  its  strength, 
its  resources,  its  theology,  its  temper  and  spirit  are 
known  in  a  superficial  way,  because  they  are,  for  the 
most  part,  not  English  and  are  concealed  in  other 
tongues  and  nationalities.  Study  is  required,  sympa- 
thy that  rises  above  national  customs  and  judgments 
to  appreciate  the  marvelous  contributions  the  Luth- 
eran Church  has  made  toward  Christianity. 

When  we  say  that  the  Lutheran  Church  numbers 
2,225,000  communicants  in  the  United  States,  repre- 
senting 10,000,000  possibly  of  our  population,  then  we 
begin  to  realize  what  a  potent  factor  the  Lutheran 
Church  is  in  these  United  States  to  the  maintenance  and 
advancement  of  Christianity.  Its  life,  furthermore, 
is  intense  and  aggressive,  its  ratio  of  increase  in  late 
years  having  been  among  the  greatest  of  all  Protestant 
bodies.  It  must  be  reckoned  one  of  the  great  religious 
forces  of  our  republic. 

Nor  should  it  be  overlooked  that  the  Lutheran 
Church  ranks  third  in  numbers  of  the  Christian  bodies 
of  the  world.  The  Roman  Catholic,  the  Greek  Church, 
then  the  Lutheran  Church,  representing  nearly  60,- 
000,000  of  Christians,  nearly  as  large  as  the  other 
Protestant  bodies  combined,  the  dominant  body  of 
Germany,  almost  exclusively  the  religion  of  Denmark, 
Sweden  and  Norway,  with  millions  in  other  lands.  It 
in  an  historic  Church,  but  it  is  more,  a  living  Church. 

The  subject  assigned  is  a  great  one,  "The  contribu- 
tions of  the  Lutherans  to  the  cause  of  Christianity," 
for  to  the  Lutherans  belongs  the  honor  of  originating 
the  Protestant  Church.  All  that  vast  and  noble  presen- 
ile 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  111 

tation  of  Christianity  called  Protestantism  has  its  roots 
in  Luther,  the  founder  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  in 
which  Church  his  characteristic  teachings  are  pre- 
served. 

Luther  is,  indeed,  one  of  those  colossal  men  whom  all 
the  world  claims.  A  man  whose  personality,  genius 
and  works  influence  all  time  and  create  new  epochs. 
Three  men  after  the  apostles  were  creative  in  the  high- 
est sense  and  influenced  the  Church's  doctrinal  devel- 
opment and  permanent  progress  for  all  time — Athana- 
sius,  Augustine,  Luther.  Athanasius  contended  for  the 
doctrine  of  the  Three  in  One,  for  he  saw  that  only 
where  the  true  knowledge  of  God  is  there  is  life  and 
salvation.  Augustine's  great  task  was  to  show  what 
God  is  and  what  life  and  salvation  the  soul  requires. 
Luther's  work  was  to  show  how  life  and  salvation  are 
made  certain  to  men  by  the  certainty  of  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins  to  those  who  believe  in  Jesus  Christ. 

We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  there  were  not  other 
men  that  had  great  conceptions  of  religious  truth,  nor 
that  there  were  not  many  who  did  not  live  by  faith. 
There  were  those  in  every  century,  but  it  was  not 
given  them  to  disclose  the  primal  truths  of  religion, 
which  once  disclosed  became  the  property  of  all  and 
enter  into  every  development  of  the  religious  doctrine 
and  life,  either  by  acceptance  or  rejection.  It  is  the 
province  of  these  great  religious  thinkers  to  make  clear 
and  distinct  those  basal  truths  which  others  had  groped 
after  and  Tield  partially,  but  could  never  express  with 
certainty. 

All  these  great  men  were  dependent  upon  others. 
They  needed  all  the  labors  and  thoughts  of  those  who 
preceded  them.  They  had  not  been  possible  without 
these.  But  in  them  that  which  generations  had  strug- 
gled with  came  into  clear  expression  and  was  made 
plain.  Beautifully  says  one,  speaking  of  Augustine : 
"A  great,  epoch-making  man  is  like  a  stream ;  the 
smaller    brooks,    which    have    their    origin,    perhaps. 


112  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

farther  off  in  the  country,  lose  themselves  in  it,  having 
fed  it,  but  without  changing  the  course  of  the  current. 
Not  only  Victomus,  but  ultimately  also  Ambrose  him- 
self, Optatus,  Cyprian  and  Tertullian  were  lost  to 
view  in  Augustine;  but  they  made  him  the  proud 
stream  in  whose  waters  the  banks  are  mirrored,  on 
whose  bosom  the  ships  sail,  and  which  fertilizes  and 
passes  through  a  whole  region  of  the  world." 

To  Luther  was  given  the  capacity  to  grasp  and  un- 
derstand the  thoughts  of  others,  appropriating  the  true 
and  eliminating  the  false.  There  stands  in  the  city 
of  Worms  a  colossal  monumental  group,  erected  by 
thoughtful  nineteenth  century  men,  men  who  had 
deeply  pondered  the  lessons  of  the  past.  Luther,  with 
the  Bible  in  his  hand,  is  the  central  figure.  Waldo  of 
France,  Wiclif  of  England,  Huss  of  Bohemia,  Sava- 
narola  of  Italy,  are  grouped  at  his  feet.  In  symbol  it 
teaches  that  throughout  all  Europe  there  was  unrest, 
struggling  for  truth,  that  Luther  had  not  been  possible 
without  them,  but  also  that  Luther,  with  his  profound 
and  comprehensive  nature,  his  deep  German  heart, 
could  grasp  all  the  truths  they  taught.  Each  of  the 
four  had  stood  for  a  great  truth ;  Waldo  for  the  right 
of  the  laity  as  priests  before  God;  Wiclif  for  the 
supremacy  of  Scripture;  FIuss  for  the  majesty  of  con- 
science ;  Savanarola  for  the  purification  of  priestly 
and  political  life.  Luther  combined  all  these  truths, 
whilst  his  deeper  apprehension  of  Christ  and  of  the 
saving  relation  to  Him  by  faith,  his  profound  under- 
standing of  God's  word,  enabled  him  to  place  them 
upon  the  foundation  Christ  Jesus  and  His  word,  which 
abides  forever. 

To  understand  Luther  aright,  one  must  consider  the 
conditions  of  the  Church  in  his  time.  The  Roman 
Catholic  Church  had  subjected  all  western  Christen- 
dom to  its  sway.  The  pope,  the  vicar  of  Christ,  was  its 
head,  divinely  established,  the  mouthpiece  of  that 
Church  to  which  alone  Christ  had  given  the  grace  that 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  113 

saves.  It  claimed  that  as  the  spiritual  outweighs  in 
importance  the  earthly  and  temporal,  the  claims  and 
authority  of  the  Church  were  superior  to  the  state.  It 
was  a  wonder  of  organization.  Its  priests  and  monks 
and  nuns  were  celibate,  cut  off  from  ties  of  home, 
bound  to  their  orders  and  superiors,  who,  in  turn,  were 
controlled  by  the  pope. 

No  one  could  expect  salvation  who  was  not  a  mem- 
ber of  its  communion,  who  did  not  participate  in  its 
sacraments,  confess  to  its  priests  and  obey  its  com- 
mands. If  any  dissented  from  its  teachings,  it  could 
not  only  excommunicate  them  and  declare  them  out- 
cast, even  to  friends  and  home,  but  punish  them  and 
compel  the  civil  authorities  to  torture  them  and  put 
them  to  death.  Even  death  did  not  free  the  soul  from 
its  power.  By  the  doctrine  of  purgatory  it  followed 
them  into  the  other  world  and  claimed  even  to  open 
and  shut  the  doors  of  heaven  itself. 

It  closed  the  Bible  to  the  layman,  and  over  against 
its  authority  elevated  tradition  and  the  decrees  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  pope,  as  equal  authority  to  guide  the 
Church. 

Christianity  under  it  became  a  new  law,  and  Christ 
a  new^  lawgiver.  God  was  a  severe  Judge,  to  be 
placated  only  by  utmost  effort.  Christ  as  a  Saviour, 
who  obtained  for  the  sinner  a  fresh  opportunity  to  win 
God's  favor.  The  soul  was  driven  to  seek  the  media- 
tion of  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and  of  the  saints, 
who  could  be  more  loving  than  God  the  Judge.  There 
was  salvation  for  men.  but  no  one  could  ever  be  sure 
of  forgiveness,  for  righteousness  was  dependent  on  the 
goodness  wrought  out.  indeed,  by  the  help  of  grace 
bestowed  through  Christ,  but  none  could  tell  when  he 
had  attained  this  goodness.  Therefore  prayers,  pen- 
ances, fastings,  works,  were  prescribed  that  God  might 
become  gracious  to  them.  The  sacraments  were 
means  by  w^iich  men  were  enabled  to  fulfill  the  law 
of  God  and  acquire  the  merits  that  are  requisite  for 


114  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

salvation.  These  were  mediated  through  the  priest- 
hood. The  mass  became  a  veritable  sacrifice  to  take 
away  sin,  but  offered  through  the  priesthood,  intrusted 
with  miraculous  power  through  the  grace  of  ordina- 
tion. 

In  regard  to  penance,  God  indeed  could  alone  par- 
don the  eternal  condemnation  deserved  by  sin,  but  the 
temporal  consequences  could  be  repaired  by  disci- 
plinary good  works  done  in  this  life,  or  by  disciplinary 
sufferings  here  or  in  purgatory.  Yet,  the  sinner  need 
not  perform  these  good  works  himself.  The  Church 
has  a  treasury  of  good  works,  the  merits  of  Christ 
and  of  the  saints,  from  which  transfer  can  be  made 
by  the  properly  constituted  priesthood,  and  especially 
by  the  pope,  to  the  needy  sinner.  This  transfer  was 
made  by  an  indulgence,  granted  on  such  terms  as  the 
priest  might  impose,  on  condition  of  a  pilgrimage, 
prayers  or  of  money. 

LUTHER    AND    TETZEL 

Briefly,  in  review,  the  Scriptures  had  lost  their 
supreme  authority,  the  gospel  had  been  obscured,  the 
priesthood  and  the  Church  stood  between  man  and 
God,  salvation  was  the  result  of  good  works  wrought 
by  the  individual  through  grace  given  of  Christ,  but 
in  the  keeping  of  the  Church ;  its  authority  was  ab- 
solute, reaching  beyond  the  grave ;  obedience  to  its 
teachings  and  priesthood  was  the  condition  of  salva- 
tion.  And  out  of  these  came  corruption  inconceivable. 

Luther  was  a  faithful  son  of  the  Church.  He  tried 
all  Rome  had  to  offer,  that  he  might  find  a  gracious 
God.  He  became  a  monk,  he  abounded  in  the  pre- 
scribed prayers,  penances,  fastings,  scourgings.  He 
failed. 

But  through  the  hints  of  friends,  the  creed,  "I  be- 
lieve in  the  forgiveness  of  sins" ;  above  all,  through 
the  Scriptures,  he  came  to  know  the  truth  and  the 
power  of  the  gospel.     He  saw  that  God  had  revealed 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  115 

Himself  as  the  God  of  grace  through  the  gospel,  that 
is,  through  the  incarnated,  crucified  and  risen  Christ. 
He  saw  that  all  outward  works  to  win  righteousness 
before  God  are  valueless.  By  his  own  merits  or  works 
no  man  can  be  justified  before  God.  Man  is  justified 
by  God  freely  for  Christ's  sake  through  faith.  Justi- 
fication is  a  divine  gift  laid  hold  upon  by  faith  that 
rests  in  humble  trust  upon  God,  who  hath  given  us 
Himself  in  Christ.  A  faith  that  trusts  that  for  Christ's 
sake  God  forgives  us  our  sins,  beholding  us  in  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ,  which  He  imputes  us.  When  he 
thus  believes,  he  is  received  into  favor  with  God  and 
his  sins  forgiven  for  Christ's  sake,  who  by  His  death 
hath  satisfied  for  sin.  This  faith  is  a  personal  and  con- 
tinuous surrender  to  God  as  the  Father  of  Jesus  Christ, 
which  transforms  and  renews  the  whole  man.  Faith 
is  a  living,  busy,  active  thing,  a  sure  confidence,  which 
makes  a  man  joyous  and  happy  toward  God  and  all 
creatures;  which,  like  a  good  tree,  yields  without  fail 
good  fruit,  and  which  is  ready  to  serve  everyone  and 
to  suflfer  all  things. 

This  is  the  great  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith. 
It  was  a  new  view  of  religion.  It  restored  the  personal 
relation  to  God.  The  repentant  sinner  came  through 
Christ  into  direct,  immediate,  loving  relation  with  God, 
his  Father.  Salvation  has  its  source  in  the  paternal 
love  of  God.  but  men  are  saved  through  Christ,  the 
divine  Son.  Christ  is  thus  made  the  center  from  which 
all  other  doctrines  are  conceived.  Justification  by 
faith  alone  means  nothing  more  than  justification  by 
Christ  alone  through  faith,  which  clings  to  Christ  as 
its  Saviour.  "Twice  only,"  says  one,  "in  the  history 
of  the  Christian  Church  has  the  appeal  been  taken  (to 
justification  by  faith)  in  order  to  new  and  higher 
stages  of  human  development — those  movements 
which  produced  St.  Paul  and  Martin  Luther.  The 
one  opened  the  doors  of  the  Church  to  the  Gentile 
world  and  undid  Jewish  legalism ;  the  other,  alone  and 


116  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

single-handed,  resisted  the  most  powerful  religious 
organization  the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  led  forth 
the  people  that  were  able  to  follow.  Both  of  them 
underwent  a  trial  of  religious  experience  tlveatening 
to  rend  their  inmost  being,  before  they  struggled  out 
of  darkness  to  light,  the  sword  piercing  their  hearts, 
that  the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  might  be  revealed. 
This  doctrine  still  remains  what  it  was  when  it  first 
took  shape  in  Luther's  soul,  the  last  refuge  of  the 
individual  soul,  the  hope  and  the  inspiration  of  man 
in  his  deepest  moods,  the  highest  consolation  in  life, 
the  surest  support  in  the  hour  of  death." 

Luther  expressed  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement  as 
none  before  him  had  expressed  it.  Not  that  he  solved  its 
mystery,  none  has  done  that.  But  he  seized  it  on  its 
practical  side.  He  believed  that  Christ  has  taken  upon 
His  heart  the  whole  burden  of  man  as  a  sinner,  has 
taken  us  up  into  His  heart,  making  our  case  absolutely 
His  own,  has  bewailed  our  sins  before  God,  and  died 
as  if  He  had  been  Himself  a  sinner.  How  boldly 
Luther  talks:  "The  believer  can  say,  'I  am  Christ;  not 
personally,  but  Christ's  righteousness,  victory,  life, 
and  everything  which  He  has,  is  my  own.'  So  Christ 
says,  'I  am  this  poor  sinner ;  that  is,  all  his  sin  and 
death  are  my  sins  and  my  death,  since  he  hangs  on  me 
and  I  on  him.'  " 

The  doctrine  of  sin  was  also  changed.  No  one  be- 
fore Luther  took  so  serious  a  view  of  sin  as  he  did, 
because  he  measured  it  by  faith ;  that  is,  took  a  reli- 
gious estimate  of  it.  He  did  not  graduate  sins  into 
greater  and  less.  He  did  not  look  on  virtues  as  mani- 
fold forms  of  worldly  morality.  He  saw  with  Paul 
that  whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  of  sin.  The  supreme 
test  of  sin  is  the  want  of  fear,  love  and  trust  in  God. 

Every  man  by  nature  is  a  sinner.  He  is  guilty  before 
God,  which  is  proven  by  his  dread  of  God,  whom  he 
should  love  and  trust.  It  was  a  new  view  of  religion. 
The  Christian  religion  is  living  assurance  of  the  liv- 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  117 

ing  God,  who  has  revealed  Himself  and  opened  His 
heart  in  Christ — nothing  else.  On  the  one  hand,  Jesus 
Christ.  His  person  and  work ;  on  the  other,  faith, 
which  is  our  life,  for  it  lays  hold  upon  the  God  of 
grace,  and.  therefore,  has  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
which  includes  adoption  as  a  child  of  God  and  blessed- 
ness. 

Zwingli  did  not  have  this  central  thought, but  received 
it  through  Luther.  Calvin  also  was  indebted  to  him 
for  it  and  other  doctrines  which  he  passed  through 
that  splendid,  clear,  logical  and  devout  mind  of  his, 
and  changed  to  what  he  conceived  was  the  truth.  It 
has  been  so  with  all  religious  thinkers  since.  It  eveiv 
modified  the  theology-  of  Rome.  It  is  still  the  root  of 
Protestantism.  No  man  can  search  and  reason  deeply 
concerning  the  Christian  religion  without  reckoning 
with  Martin  Luther  and  the  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith. 

By  this  faith  the  believer  is  brought  into  intimate 
union  and  fellowship  with  God  in  Christ.  As  the 
branch  is  united  with  the  vine,  draws  its  substance  and 
life  from  the  vine  and  is  part  of  it,  so  is  the  justified 
united  with  Christ  and  Christ  with  him.  Horace 
Bushnell,  "Luther  vivet,  vibet!" 

As  the  justified  is  certain  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins 
and  of  union  with  Christ,  he  acquires  a  personal  cer- 
tainty of  peace  toward  God,  which  is  the  source  of  joy. 
He  becomes  filled  with  the  spirit  of  love  in  proportion 
as  he  actualizes  his  union  with  Christ.  There  is  a  new 
obedience  which  springs  out  of  love  to  Christ,  there- 
fore cheerful  and  willing.  He  obeys  God  and  does 
good  works,  not  because  he  must,  but  because  he 
wants  to. 

Arising  logically  out  of  this  was  a  new  view  of  the 
Church.  "By  the  Catholic,  the  highest  Christian  duty 
was  seen  in  obedience  to  the  infallible  voice  of  the 
Church  that  claims  to  be  the  depositary  of  the  truth. 
the  dispenser  of  the  sacraments,  with  which  alone  all 


118  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

certainty  of  salvation  is  conjoined,  the  possessor  of  a 
true  priesthood  of  divine  appointment,  intrusted  with 
miraculous  power  through  the  grace  of  ordination.  A 
Church  characterized  by  unity  expressed  in  allegiance 
to  a  single  earthly  head." 

"To  the  Protestant,  the  prof  oundest  obligations  were 
to  use  his  divinely  given  faculties  to  ascertain  for  him- 
self what  is  the  truth  of  God  as  contained  in  His  infal- 
lible and  absolutely  authoritative  word;  and  to  enter 
through  faith  into  immediate  and  personal  relations 
with  his  Saviour." 

Access  to  God  is  alone  through  one  mediator,  Jesus 
Christ,  through  whom  he  cries,  forgiven  and  accepted, 
"Abba,  Father."  He  needs  no  priest  as  mediator.  He  is 
himself  a  priest  before  God,  to  offer  praise,  prayer  and 
thanksgiving.  There  is,  indeed,  a  ministry,  appointed 
of  God,  but  it  is  an  office,  not  an  order  standing  be- 
tween man  and  God.  To  this  office  men  are  set  apart, 
men  gifted  and  endowed  of  God  to  teach  and  preach ; 
called  of  God,  but  whose  call  must  be  attested  by  the 
voice  of  the  congregation. 

The  Church  is  divine,  but  is  not  to  be  judged  by 
external  signs  and  outward  and  derived  apostolate. 
The  Church  is  the  congregation  of  saints  and  true  be- 
lievers. It  is  invisible  in  this  sense,  that  God  alone 
knows  who  these  believers  are.  It  has,  however, 
external  marks  whereby  it  may  be  known,  namely,  the 
right  preaching  and  teaching  of  the  gospel  and  the 
right  administration  of  the  sacraments. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  Lutheran  has  never 
laid  stress  on  forms  of  church  government.  The  ex- 
ternal Church  must  have  an  order  of  government.  The 
form  of  government  is  not  essential,  so  long  as  not 
contrary  to  the  gospel.  The  Lutheran  has  episcopal, 
presbyterial  and  congregational  constitutions.  All  that 
he  contends  against  is  that  in  behalf  of  these  orders  it 
shall  not  be  demanded  that  these  are  in  the  name  of  the 
gospel.    They  are  to  be  determined  by  circumstances. 


SERMONS   AND   PAPERS  119 

necessities  of  time  and  situation,  but  the  word  of  God 
does  not  establish  any  order,  nor  does  it  sanction  any 
])riesthood  through  whom  Ijehevers  are  to  approach 
God  and  whom  God  makes  the  organs  of  His  grace 
and  mercy. 

The  next  great  principle  insisted  upon  is  that  the 
Holy  Scriptures  are  the  only  source  and  authority  for 
revealed  doctrine.  The  appeal  was  taken  from  the 
authority  of  popes,  and  even  of  councils,  to  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  In  other  words,  whilst  creeds  are  of  value, 
the  testimony  of  the  Church,  the  experience  of  the 
common  Christian  consciousness  are  to  be  carefully 
heeded.  All  these  are  subordinate  to  the  Scriptures 
and  must  abide  the  test  of  its  truth.  They  are  the  only 
rule  of  faith  and  practice. 

Who.  then,  shall  decide  the  meaning  of  the  Script- 
ures? The  answer  is  boldly  rnade  that  as  every  man 
who  believes  has  the  faith,  the  Spirit,  the  mind  of 
Christ,  he  is  entitled  to  interpret  the  Scriptures  for 
himself.  The  right  of  private  judgment  is  frankly 
conceded.  The  freedom  of  conscience  is  thus  pro- 
claimed. 

There  was  a  day  when  Luther  stood  alone  and  faced 
the  stake.  It  was  one  of  the  few  dramatic  moments  of 
history.  He,  the  peasants'  son,  was  on  one  side — 
the  emperor,  prelates  and  princes  on  the  other.  He 
was  asked  to  recant  his  teachings  and  submit  to  the 
authority  of  that  revered  assembly.  He  replied,  in 
ever  memorable  words:  "Unless  I  am  refuted  by 
Scriptural  testimonies,  or  by  clear  arguments — for  I 
believe  neither  the  pope  nor  the  councils  alone,  since 
it  is  clear  they  have  often  erred  and  contradicted  one 
another — unless  I  am  conquered  by  the  passages  of 
Scripture  which  I  have  cited,  and  my  conscience  is 
bound  in  the  word  of  God — I  cannot  and  will  not  re- 
cant anything,  since  it  is  unsafe  and  dangerous  to  act 
against  conscience." 

Great  was  the  excitement  in  the  Reichstag.     The 


120  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

emperor  and  his  followers  were  scarcely  able  to  be- 
lieve that  anyone  could  be  so  rash.  Then,  in  the  con- 
fusion, was  heard  those  great  words :  "I  cannot  do 
otherwise.  Here  I  stand,  God  help  me !  Amen."  Since 
that  brave  and  unheard-of  stand,  liberty  of  conscience, 
the  right  of  private  judgment,  the  authority  of  the 
word  of  God  abide  and  gain  dominion  with  each  pass- 
ing century. 

Naturally  it  followed  that  the  Scriptures  should  be 
in  the  hands  of  the  people.  There  had  been  transla- 
tions of  the  Bible  ere  Luther's  translation,  but,  without 
exception,  translations  of  a  translation ;  they  were 
made  from  the  Vulgate.  Luther's  translation  of  the 
Bible  is  the  greatest  single  work  ever  accomplished  in 
the  department  of  theological  literature.  It  raised  the 
German  language  from  a  barbarous  jargon  into  a 
language  flexible  in  beauty,  with  power  of  internal 
combination,  paralleled  alone  by  the  Greek,  and  with  a 
massive  vigor  that  has  no  superior  but  the  English, 
whilst  for  fidelity  and  true  spiritual  insight  it  has  never 
been  surpassed.  Because  of  this  and  other  transla- 
tions, the  Reformation  and  Christianity  have  ever 
possessed  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  and  rejoiced  in  the 
open  Bible. 

There  was  another  truth  that  he  proclaimed,  that 
there  is  no  distinction  between  the  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral estates.  Rome  had  made  a  broad  distinction  be- 
tween the  spiritual — meaning  thereby  the  clerg}%  the 
religious  orders,  the  Church  and  the  laity,  the  secular 
callings  and  the  state.  Worldly  calling  and  daily  duty 
it  had  looked  upon  with  distrust.  The  doctrine  of 
celibacy,  so  much  lauded,  was  held  to  be  necessary  to 
the  higher  moral  perfection,  and  the  family  and  mar- 
riage were  belittled.  Marriage  was  a  kind  of  ecclesi- 
astical concession  to  the  weak.  He  taught  that  it  is  in- 
stituted of  God,  the  school  of  the  highest  morality.  The 
family  and  the  home  were  again  restored  to  their  God- 
given  position.     The  kingdom  of  God  was  made  as 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  121 

broad  as  humanity.  Religious  things  were  the  province 
of  no  one  order  of  society.  "All  Christians,"  Luther  de- 
clared, "are  truly  of  the  spiritual  estate,  and  there  is 
no  difference  among  them,  save  of  office  alone."  "The 
civil  calling,  the  simple  activity  amidst  family  and  de- 
pendents, in  business,  in  every  state,  was  no  longer 
to  be  viewed  with  suspicion,  as  an  occupation  with- 
drawing the  thoughts  from  heaven,  but  is  the  true 
spiritual  province,  the  field  in  which  proof  is  to  be 
given  of  one's  trust  in  God,  one's  humility  and  prayer- 
fulness — that  is  of  the  Christian  character  that  is 
rooted  in  faith."  The  ideal  of  religious  perfection  was 
thus  changed.  It  was  no  longer  monkish  and  ascetic, 
but  confidence  in  God  manifested  by  faithfulness  to 
Him  in  one's  calling,  which  is  God's  appointment.  Care 
for  the  poor  and  active  charity  were  still  inculcated, 
but  not.  as  before,  with  an  idea  to  securing  one's  own 
salvation,  but  as  the  free  service  of  one's  neighbor, 
which  sees  in  the  real  giving  of  help  its  ultimate  aim 
and  its  only  reward.  Modern  humanitarianism  and 
the  ennobling  of  home,  occupation,  the  love  of  country, 
were  thus  given  their  initiative ;  a  change  of  moral 
perfection,  Avith  the  deeper  righteousness. 

Nevertheless  the  Lutheran  Church  has  ever  been 
sober  and  conservative.  It  did  not  yield  to  unbridled 
private  judgment.  It  gave  heed  to  the  consciousness 
of  the  Church.  It  would  not  grant  that  God  deals  im- 
mediately with  each  individual  soul  without  regard  to 
established  means.  He  deals  mediately  with  men 
through  the  word  of  God  and  the  sacraments,  which 
are  the  means  of  grace. 

It  teaches  that  the  Spirit  and  the  word  of  God  have 
an  inseparable  relation  to  each  other.  The  Holy  Spirit 
or  His  grace,  God  bestows  through  the  word  and  along 
with  the  word.  It  is  not  God's  will  to  transact  with 
us  except  through  the  word  and  the  sacraments  of 
baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  Issue  is  taken  with 
those  who  boast  that  they  have  the  Spirit  without  the 


122  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

word,  and  accordingly  judge,  trust  and  pervert  Script- 
ure, or  the  spoken  word,  as  they  please. 

The  Holy  Spirit  works  through  the  word  and  the 
sacraments  for  the  regeneration,  salvation  and  sancti- 
tication  of  men.  Through  them  God  assures  man  of 
salvation.  It  is  fanaticism  to  claim  that  assurance  of 
salvation  rests  in  one's  own  consciousness  and  inner 
feelings,  or  that  the  Holy  Spirit  without  God's  word 
communicates  to  men  directly  assurance  and  salvation. 

Baptism  is  a  sacrament  and  not  a  mere  rite.  By 
baptism  grace  is  offered.  By  it  children  are  received 
into  favor  with  God.  The  mode  of  baptism  with  the 
Lutheran  is  non-essential — immersion,  pouring  and 
sprinkling  are  all  valid  forms  of  baptism,  the  water 
being  but  the  sign  of  the  washing  of  regeneration  and 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Children  who  are  thus  received  into  favor  are  to  be 
trained  and  nurtured  by  parents,  pastors  and  churches 
into  full  knowledge  of  Him,  and  thus  enable  them 
later,  with  intelligence  and  conscious  faith,  to  confess 
publicly  in  the  church  Christ  their  Saviour,  who  hath 
covenanted  with  them  in  baptism. 

To  assist  in  this  Luther  wrote  the  first  Protestant 
catechism,  a  wonderful  summary  of  the  Christian  doc- 
trine. The  Lutheran  Church  has  become  an  educa- 
tional Church,  has  its  young  people  gathered  for  in- 
struction under  its  pastors,  indoctrinating  them,  so 
that  whilst  deeply  emotional,  it  is  deeply  educational, 
seeking  the  head  as  well  as  the  heart. 

Its  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  peculiar.  To 
the  Lutheran  the  Lord's  Supper  is  the  sacrament 
wherein  Christ  constantly  imparts  Himself  to  the  be- 
liever, to  sustain  and  strengthen  him.  He  does  not 
agree  with  the  Romanist,  who  believes  that  the  bread 
and  wine  are  changed  into  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  nor  with  the  Reformed  view,  that  denies  the 
real  presence  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  He 
believes  that  the  spiritual  body  and  blood  of   Christ 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  123 

are  truly  present  under  the  bread  and  wine,  and  are 
there  communicated  and  received.  He  abides  by  the 
words,  "This  is  my  body,"  and  will  not  refine  them 
away  to  suit  the  demands  of  the  understanding  con- 
cerning this  mystery. 

To  those  who  have  never  studied  theology  and  have 
only  considered  their  own  opinions, this  may  not  seem  to 
have  been  important.  But  this  doctrine  was  the  source 
of  one  of  the  most  fruitful  contributions  of  Lutherans 
to  Christianity.  It  caused  their  great  thinkers  to  study 
the  doctrine  of  the  two  natures  of  Christ,  and  how  in 
the  union  of  the  divine  and  the  human  the  attributes 
of  each  are  given  one  to  another.  Behind  this  was 
another  profound  question,  the  relation  of  God  to 
nature  and  man. 

"The  incarnation,  therefore,  has  been  its  problem  as 
it  has  been  the  problem  of  no  other  Church,  not  even 
of  the  ancient  Greek.  In  the  nineteenth  century,  as  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  it  has  travailed  at  a  scientific 
Christology,  though  from  the  opposite  end  of  the  scale. 
It  labored  at  it  then  by  attempting  to  make  the  man- 
hood capable  of  receiving  the  Deity,  but  now,  by  re- 
versing the  process,  at  making  the  Deity  capable  of 
losing  itself,  though  only  anew  and  more  gloriously 
to  find  itself,  in  the  manhood.  In  all  the  kenotic  theo- 
ries there  are  exaggerations,  suppressions  and  myste- 
ries that  grow  more  mysterious  by  being  looked  at; 
but  one  thing  they  have  done,  they  have  made  men 
see  that  the  incarnation  is  the  symbol  at  once  of  the 
highest  mystery  and  the  highest  truth.  It  holds  the 
key  to  the  problem  of  the  relation  of  God  and  man ;  it 
is  the  problem  summarized,  recapitulated,  imperson- 
ated. The  philosophers  who  have  most  strenuously 
handled  and  most  nearly  solved  the  problem  have  been 
sons  of  the  land  and  Church  of  Luther;  and  the  theo- 
logians of  other  lands  and  Churches  that  have  to-day 
attempted  through  the  incarnation  to  vivify  theologv 
and  relate  it  to  modern  knowledge,  are  often  paying 


124  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

unconscious  but  deserved  homage  to  the  faith  and  in- 
sight of  Luther  and  his  spiritual  children." — Fair- 
bairn. 

The  Lutheran  contributed  the  first  great  creed  to 
the  Church,  the  Augsburg  Confession.  It  preceded 
all  others  and  has  modified  all  other  creeds  since,  not 
excepting  that  of  the  Council  of  Trent.  Especially 
may  its  influence  be  traced  in  those  of  other  Protestant 
bodies.  Creeds  it  is  the  fashion  now  to  cavil  at,  but  a 
creed  is  the  answer,  frank,  unequivocal,  of  man  to  God 
concerning  that  which  he  finds  in  His  word.  God 
speaks  to  us  in  His  word,  the  Church  speaks  to  Him 
and  to  men  by  its  creed  as  to  what  it  believes  it  has 
discovered  in  His  word.  It  gives  clearness  to  thought, 
stability,  and  is  a  deadly  foe  to  evasions  and  hypocrisy. 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  contributed  to  Christian- 
ity greatly  in  public  worship.  There  is  always  dan- 
ger in  every  great  movement  that  in  the  correction 
of  evil  good  will  be  sacrificed.  The  early  Christians 
found  beauty  of  art  enlisted  in  the  service  of  pagan- 
ism, ministering  to  luxury  and  lust.  In  their  strenuous 
pursuit  of  righteousness,  they  sacrificed  the  beautiful 
in  art,  ready  to  deprive  themselve  of  it  rather  than  sub- 
ject their  followers  to  the  temptations  which  sur- 
rounded it.  In  the  Reformation,  in  the  correction  of 
the  abuse  of  worship,  many  Protestants  thought  the 
only  safety  from  Romish  errors  was  to  sever  them- 
selves from  all  that  the  Church  had  wrought  out  in  the 
ages.  Their  principle  was,  whatever  was  not  in  God's 
word  should  be  rejected.  Lutherans  held  whatever 
was  not  contrary  to  God's  word  could  be  retained 
whenever  it  tended  to  edification.  Luther,  therefore, 
retained  much  of  the  old  order  and  ceremony  of  the 
mass,  rejected  its  sacrificial  elements.  He  gave  large 
place  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  observing  the 
Church  year,  to  the  people's  participation  in  song.  He 
demanded  that  worship  should  be  in  the  common 
tongue.     But  he  retained  the  historical  service,  with 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  125 

the  great  treasures  of  prayers,  chants  and  sentences 
which  the  Church  had  gathered  in  the  ages.  The  order 
of  worship  of  the  Lutheran  Church  became  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Hturgies  of  Protestant  bodies,  and  was  one 
of  the  great  sources  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
of  the  Episcopal  Church. 

Nevertheless,  in  accord  with  his  principle  of  Chris- 
tian liberty,  he  did  not  insist  on  one  order  of  worship 
everywhere,  but  placed  worshij)  on  the  ground  of  edi- 
fication. The  Lutheran  Church  has,  therefore,  in  its 
worship  liberty  and  historical  service.  In  our  day  there 
is  a  demand  in  the  Protestant  churches  for  a  service 
that  shall  be  participated  in  by  the  people,  and  not 
dependent  upon  the  minister  alone.  The  Lutheran  has 
such  a  service,  as,  we  believe,  the  richest  and  best  of 
all  services,  truly  Scriptural. 

One  of  the  great  contributions  of  Lutherans  to 
Christianity  has  been  its  hymns.  "The  Reforma- 
tion is  the  mother  of  true  evangelical  song.  The 
messenger  of  God's  free  grace  put  a  new  song  into 
the  heart  and  mouth  of  the  believer."  Luther  saw 
that  hymns  to  be  sung  by  the  people  in  the  services 
of  the  Church  and  in  their  homes  were  a  primal  neces- 
sity of  spirituality  and  worship.  He  called  for  poets 
and  composers.  He  himself  wrote  matchless  hymns. 
He  was  a  true  poet,  a  great  Christian.  They  are  fresh 
from  the  heart,  trustful,  grateful,  hopeful,  courageous, 
full  of  divine  fire.  Of  all  his  hymns,  "A  Safe  Strong- 
hold is  Our  God,"  is  the  most  famous.  The  power 
of  these  hymns  was  amazing.  The  Jesuit,  Conger, 
writes:  "The  hymns  of  Luther  have  slain  more 
souls  than  his  writings  and  sermons."  Carlyle  says. 
"There  is  something  in  it  like  the  sound  of  Alpine 
avalanches  or  the  first  murmur  of  earthquakes;  in 
the  very  vastness  of  dissonance  a  higher  union  is  re- 
vealed to  us.  Luther  wrote  this  song  in  a  time  of 
blackest  threatenings,  which,  however,  could  in  no 
wise  become  a  time  of  despair.    In  these  tones,  rugged. 


126  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

broken  as  they  are,  we  do  but  recognize  the  accents  of 
that  summoned  man  (summoned  not  by  Charles  V",  but 
by  God  Almighty  also),  who  answered  to  a  friend's 
warning  not  to  enter  Worms,  in  this  wise,  "Were  there 
as  many  devils  in  Worms  as  there  are  roof-tiles,  I 
would  on." 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  been  distinguished  for 
the  number  and  excellence  of  its  hymn-writers,  and 
also  for  the  splendid  musicians  who  have  worthily 
set  these  hymns  to  melody.  Over  30,000  hymns  have 
been  written  in  Germany  alone. 

The  Lutheran  Church  is  characterized  by  a  rich  and 
profound  type  of  piety.  The  Lutheran  approaches 
God  through  Christ  in  childlike  confidence.  He  mag- 
nifies the  love  of  God,  God  is  his  Father.  He  accepts 
the  good  things  of  this  life  frankly.  He  loves  music, 
the  arts,  innocent  sports,  the  society  of  friends,  the 
joys  of  home.  He  is  no  ascetic.  He  excels  in  honesty, 
kindness,  aflfection,  cheerfulness,  and  that  Gemuthlich- 
keit  for  which  other  nations  have  not  even  a  name.  His 
piety  is  profound,  meditative,  mystical,  with  a  rich,  in- 
ward life.  Therefore  the  hymnology  and  devotional 
literature  of  the  Lutheran  Church  are  abundant  and 
fervent,  and  "her  charm  the  charm  of  Mary  sitting  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus."  Out  of  this  piety  has  come  some 
of  the  richest  devotional  literature  Christianity  pos- 
sesses. 

In  works  of  charity  she  has  been  pre-eminent.  Hos- 
pitals, homes,  orphanages  abound.  In  the  foundation 
and  support  of  these  Christianity  has  witnessed  mar- 
vels of  faith.  George  Mitller's  work  at  Bristol  is  justly 
celebrated,  but  he  was  from  a  Lutheran  land,  trained 
in  her  faith.  Long  before  him,  in  1695,  Francke  began 
the  orphan  home  at  Halle.  He  implicitly  trusted  to 
God  for  its  support  and  that  of  kindred  institutions. 
He  never  asked  anyone  for  money,  and  yet,  in  answer 
to  his  faith,  means  to  support  several  thousand  persons 
were  forthcoming. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  127 

In  foreign  mission  work  the  Lutheran  Church  has 
more  than  300,000  members  under  her  care.  It  has 
one  congregation  of  several  thousand  members,  on  the 
heath  of  Liineberg,  that  alone  supports,  in  South  Af- 
rica, two  missions,  with  35,000  members,  and  one  in 
Persia,  a  singular  example  of  the  self-sacrifice  and 
depth  of  Lutheran  piety. 

It  is  to  the  honor  of  the  Lutheran  Church  that  she 
began,  in  1836,  the  restoration  of  the  deaconess  office, 
which  had  been  lost,  except  among  the  \Valdenses  and 
Bohemian  brethren.  There  are  now  15,000  deacon- 
esses at  work  in  every  land,  consecrated,  devoted 
women.  This  movement  has  now  become  general 
among  Protestants. 

Time  would  fail  to  tell  of  the  other  movements 
which  characterize  the  Lutheran  Church  or  her  mani-- 
fold  activities. 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  been  the  Church  of  theo- 
logians and  philosophers  and  scholars.  Dollinger,  the 
old  Catholic,  frankly  concedes  it.  Germany  has  been 
a  name  synonymous  with  some  of  all  that  is  terrible. 
She  is  the  seat  of  all  heresy.  But  these  questions  were 
bound  to  arise.  Cowardice  concerning  them  will  not 
win  the  victory  for  the  faith. 

If  Germany  has  at  times  furnished  poison,  she  has 
also  given  the  antidote.  Nowhere  has  profounder, 
wiser  and  more  Christian  scholarship  been  shown  than 
in  Germany.  After  all,  we  sit  at  the  feet  of  her 
princely  intellects.  The  observer  discovers  that  the 
battle  for  the  faith  is  being  won  by  the  believers.  And 
when  won,  Christianity  will  be  more  richly  and  pro- 
foundly conceived  than  ever.  To  the  sons  of  Luther, 
much  of  that  victory  will  be  due. 

Once  more,  there  can  ])e  no  question  that  when  the 
counter  reformation  arose,  the  Lutheran  Church,  in 
the  Thirty  Years'  War,  bore  the  brunt  of  the  conflict. 
On  the  bloody  field  of  Liitzen  that  great  hero,  Gus- 
tavus  Adolphus  broke  the  power  of  the  Roman  League, 


128  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

although  at  the  cost  of  his  hfe.  Holland  deserves 
praise  for  her  noble  struggle,  England  for  her  stal- 
wart fight,  but  the  dispassionate  observer  of  history- 
will  concede  that  the  cause  of  Protestantism  was  saved 
in  this  struggle  by  the  great  Lutheran,  one  of  the 
world's  six  great  captains,  Gustavus  Adolphus. 

Sound  in  doctrine,  broad  in  its  conceptions,  teaching 
freedom  of  conscience,  yet  conservative  in  tendency, 
flexible  in  government,  rich  in  worship,  calmly  Script- 
ural, devoutly  spiritual,  with  trust  and  love  in  God, 
joyful  and  courageous,  this  great  Church  will  yet  con- 
tribute inestimable  results  to  Christianity. 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS  OE  EDUCA- 
TION 

"The  nineteenth  century,"  says  Alfred  Russell  Wal- 
lace, "marks  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  of  human 
progress."  And  surely  to  the  observant  this  claim  is 
substantiated  when  its  achievements  are  considered. 
Its  discoveries  have  changed  the  outward  conditions  of 
life.  Its  larger  knowledge  has  destroyed  the  very  con- 
ceptions of  the  world  and  its  growth  which  our  fathers 
held.  The  directive  principle  of  its  thought,  evolution, 
is  masterful  and  antagonistic  to  much  that  the  men  of 
other  centuries  considered  axioms.  It  is  a  new  world 
in  which  we  live,  and  this  world  has  largely  come  into 
being  during  the  last  fifty  years. 

A  few  considerations,  briefly  stated,  will  more 
clearly  indicate  this. 

President  Taylor,  of  Vassar  College,  in  "A  New 
World  and  an  Old  Gospel,"  has  pointed  out  that  these 
years  have  added  immensely  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
universe.  "It  was  in  1845  that  Neptune  was  discov- 
ered, extending  enormously  the  limits  of  the  known 
universe,  and  most  of  the  measurements  of  the  stellar 
spaces  have  taken  place  since  then.  Over  4CX)  small 
planets  have  been  discovered  since  1850,  and  as  late  as 
1892  the  fifth  satellite  of  Jupiter  was  brought  within 
reach  of  the  telescope.  The  vast  spaces  of  the  solar 
system  are  found  to  be  filled  with  solid  bodies,  streams 
of  which,  as  meteors,  pass  through  our  orbit,  and  be- 
fore them  the  old  nebular  hypothesis  seems  to  be 
giving  way  to  a  theory  of  the  stellar  universe  formed 
of  solid  particles,  united  by  impact  and  heat." 

The  world  has  been  changed  historically  and  tem- 
porally. The  world  period  of  six  thousand  years  since 
man's  creation  is  no  longer  tenable.  Archaeology  in 
Babylon  and  Egypt  has  revealed  that  historically  man 

^  129 


130  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

was  there,  perhaps,  from  5000  to  10,000  years  B.C., 
and  that  back  of  this  was  an  age  not  historical. 

Geology,  by  its  discoveries  of  the  immense  periods 
of  time,  has  changed  our  vision  of  the  past.  But  what 
is  more  important  to  thought,  it  has  shown  that  the 
same  forces  which  built  up  the  earth  are  still  at  work. 
The  unity  of  the  power  to  create  and  to  preserve  is 
one.  This  is  another  world,  and  requires  different 
thinking  from  the  old  world  of  our  fathers. 

Again,  invention  has  almost  annihilated  distances  in 
the  world.  Steam  and  electricity  have  nearly  ban- 
ished space.  Friend  speaks  with  friend  a  thousand 
miles  away.  The  Transvaal  and  the  Philippines  are 
nearer  to  us  than  Europe  was  to  our  fathers.  What 
is  of  more  consequence,  these  conditions  have  affected 
all  our  social,  industrial,  economic,  political  and  spir- 
itual life.  They  bind  nations  together  as  nothing  ever 
did  before.  They  lessen  world-spaces  and  make  its 
distant  points  near.  Interests  hitherto  diverse  and 
isolated  now  intertwine  and  have  common  relations. 

Inventions  have  changed  the  world  industrially,  until 
we  are  confronted  by  the  most  serious  problems  of  labor 
and  capital,  gigantic  in  their  combinations  and  involv- 
ing the  well-being  of  millions.  Industrial  questions 
are  new  and  strange. 

Politically  and  socially  vast  changes  have  occurred. 
The  people  have  come  into  power,  slavery  has  disap- 
peared. The  ancient  East  is  no  longer  sealed ;  the  na- 
tions are  in  contact  as  never  before ;  vast  aggregations 
of  people  in  cities  bring  distressing  social  conditions. 
Problems  our  ancestors  had,  but  never  handled,  vaster 
and  profounder,  are  studied.  Political  economy  and 
social  problems  must  be  considered  and  weighed. 

Again,  we  are  confronted  by  the  discoveries  of  biol- 
ogy. Biology  is  the  science  of  the  phenomena  of  life. 
It  has  traced  all  life  back  to  protoplasm,  "the  cell." 
Beginning  with  this  the  biologist  traces  the  structure, 
physiology  and  growth  of  the  human  nervous  system. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  131 

He  deals  with  facts.  And  so  psychology  has  come  to 
be  studied  on  the  basis  of  physiology.  Sociology  must 
consider  it  in  its  investigations.  Ethics,  morality  as  a 
science,  is  profoundly  affected  by  its  discoveries.  Yet 
biolog}'  was  born  as  a  science  in  i860. 

A  new  theory,  at  least  in  its  scientific  aspect,  has 
come  to  stay  in  these  last  fifty  years,  the  theory  of 
evolution,  which  is  dominant  in  many  departments  of 
knowledge,  and  affects  all.  It  has  brought  modifica- 
tions and  changes.  We  may  not  concede  the  claims 
of  its  advanced  advocates,  but  we  cannot  hide  from 
ourselves  that  it  has  affected  our  views  of  creation, 
of  history,  religion,  the  Bible  and  the  Church. 

It  follows  from  these  data  that  the  scope  of  educa- 
tion has  been  vastly  enlarged.  Objects  of  study,  de- 
partments of  knowledge,  of  which  our  fathers  either 
knew  nothing  or  but  vaguely,  are  now  embraced  in  the 
curriculum  of  the  educators.  They  have  seriously 
affected  educational  methods  and  schemes  which  here- 
tofore have  laid  down  the  preliminaries  for  the  profes- 
sional man.  The  classical  course,  so  long  unchallenged 
and  dominant,  is  sharply  criticised.  Assault  has  been 
made  on  the  study  of  Greek  in  particular  and  the  clas- 
sical languages  in  general  as  educational  values  and 
forces.  Germany,  the  home  of  the  idealist  and 
dreamer,  has  felt  the  modern  movement  and  the  trend 
to  the  practical,  and  is  being  induced  to  rearange  its 
estimate  of  fundamental  educational  values. 

The  conditions  of  education  have  been  changed  both 
by  the  vastness  of  modern  knowledge  and  the  clamant 
demand  of  this  practical  age  with  its  industrial  victo- 
ries and  problems.  There  is  a  marked  tendency  to 
specialization  which  seeks  to  begin  in  the  preparatory 
stages  of  education  even  in  those  of  our  common 
schools,  and  to  grow  more  intense  as  it  ascends  to  the 
higher  stages  of  the  college  and  university. 

Under  such  conditions  there  must  be  an  insistence 
on  the  true  meaning  of  education.    It  must  be  allowed 


132  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

that  the  earlier  schemes  of  higher  education  were 
largely  in  the  interest  of  the  clergy  and  of  the  men 
of  literary  leisure.  The  insistence  put  upon  the  classics 
was  in  their  behalf,  preparing  them  for  their  profes- 
sion and  a  liberal  education. 

Underneath  it  all,  however,  there  was  a  grasp  of 
the  fundamental  meaning  of  education.  The  object 
of  the  collegiate  education  was  the  making  of  a  man, 
by  the  development  of  his  intellectual  powers,  and  the 
formation  of  a  moral  and  righteous  character.  There 
was,  therefore,  a  broad  and  comprehensive  training  in 
disciplinary  studies,  in  the  classics,  mathematics,  his- 
tory, moral  and  mental  philosophy  and  the  principles 
of  science.  The  outcome  was  a  balanced  mind,  master 
of  its  powers,  taught  to  reason  and  judge,  possessed  of 
general  information.  "The  college  teaching  was  inade- 
quate in  quantity  to  enable  a  student  to  pretend  to  the 
mastery  in  any  department,  but  adequate,  both  in  quan- 
tity and  quality,  to  enable  even  the  less  able  students 
to  estimate  justly  the  world  in  which  they  lived  and 
their  capacity  for  usefulness  in  it."  Above  all,  the  col- 
lege of  fifty  years  ago  in  our  land  had  a  high  sense  of 
its  responsibility  to  so  influence  men  morally  and  re- 
ligiously that  they  should  go  forth  from  its  walls  men 
capable  of  justly  estimating  the  value  of  work  done 
by  others  in  widely  different  spheres,  men  aware  of 
their  obligations  to  society,  to  their  land  and  to  their 
God,  men  of  tough  moral  fiber,  with  high  ideals  of  a 
noble  life,  determined  to  be  of  service  to  their  fellow- 
men.  Educated  men  were  then  looked  up  to  as  the 
champions  and  defenders  of  truth  and  right. 

How  deeply  ingrained  was  this  conception,  the  words 
of  Prof.  Huxley  on  a  liberal  education  beautifully  ex- 
press, though,  because  he  did  not  lay  hold  firmly  on 
God,  he  fails  to  recognize  the  part  which  God  should 
have  in  the  educated  life  : 

"That  man,  I  think,  has  had  a  liberal  education,  who 
has  been  so  trained  in  his  youth  that  his  body  is  the 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  133 

ready  servant  of  his  will,  and  does  with  ease  and  pleas- 
ure all  the  work  that  as  a  mechanism  it  is  capable  of ; 
whose  intellect  is  a  clear,  cold,  logical  engine,  with  all 
its  parts  of  equal  strength  and  in  smooth  working  or- 
der; ready,  like  a  steam  engine,  to  be  turned  to  any 
kind  of  work,  and  spin  the  gossamers  as  well  as  forge 
the  anchors  of  the  mind ;  whose  mind  is  stored  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  great  and  fundamental  truths  of 
nature  and  of  the  laws  of  her  operations ;  one  who,  no 
stunted  ascetic,  is  full  of  life  and  fire,  but  whose  pas- 
sions are  trained  to  come  to  heel  by  a  vigorous  will, 
the  servant  of  a  tender  conscience ;  who  has  learned 
to  love  all  beauty,  whether  of  nature  or  of  art,  to  hate 
all  vileness,  and  to  respect  others  as  himself. 

"Such  a  one,  and  no  other,  I  conceive,  has  had  a 
liberal  education,  for  he  is,  as  completely  as  a  man  can 
l^e,  in  harmony  with  nature.  He  will  make  the  best  of 
her,  and  she  of  him.  They  will  get  on  together  easily : 
she  as  the  ever  beneficent  mother,  he  as  her  mouth- 
piece, her  conscious  self,  her  minister  and  interpreter." 

After  the  college  had  laid  the  foundations  of  intelli- 
gent and  moral  manhood,  the  student  was  regarded  as 
prepared  for  special  work,  for  university  work.  He 
would  ever  carry  with  him  into  the  particular  province 
of  knowledge  he  had  selected  as  his  own  the  concep- 
tion of  the  largeness  of  the  vast  domains  of  knowledge 
in  general.  It  curbed  conceit.  It  balanced  his  judg- 
ments. He  did  humbly  his  particular  work,  readily 
acknowledging  that  there  were  other  fields,  as  im- 
portant as  his  own,  concerning  which  he  was  not 
authority. 

Special  work  from  the  beginning,  the  work  which 
ignores  the  broader  liberal  education,  has  the  tendency 
to  narrow  men,  to  warp  their  judgment,  to  make  them 
incapable  of  putting  a  correct  value  on  other  depart- 
ments of  knowledge.  This  is  most  true  of  those  who 
delve  in  the  material.  They  lose  their  sensitiveness 
of  mind  and  spirit  to  the  spiritual.    The  eye  of  the  soul 


134  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

films,  its  ear  grows  dull,  just  as  the  great  English 
scholar,  Darwin,  devoted  to  science  alone,  died  at  last 
to  the  sweetness  of  music,  to  the  thrill  of  poetry.  No 
voice  of  singer  could  charm,  no  verse  of  Shakespeare 
stir  response  in  him.  His  finer  perceptions  were  atro- 
phied from  lack  of  use. 

The  college,  the  American  college,  therefore,  stands 
for  foundations ;  the  university,  for  special  work. 
Broadly  stated,  the  function  of  the  college  is  the  de- 
velopment of  manhood ;  of  the  university,  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  boundaries  of  knowledge. 

But  another  changed  condition  is  apparent.  The 
university  has  made  the  college  curriculum  a  part  of 
its  course,  and  claims  that  it  can  lay  better  foundations 
than  the  smaller  college.  We  may  be  sure  that  this 
claim  is  not  made  recklessly.  Its  advocates  produce 
strong  arguments  in  justification.  The  university  be- 
ing richly  endowed  can  enlarge  its  curriculum.  It 
can  call  into  its  service  a  body  of  teachers  and  pro- 
fessors, each  one  of  whom  is  a  master  of  his  depart- 
ment, competent  to  instruct;  it  claims  that  it  is  impos- 
sible that  one  man  should  successfully  teach  several 
departments,  as  the  small  college,  limited  in  endow- 
ment, makes  obligatory  on  its  professors.  It  com- 
mands the  services  of  young  men  full  of  the  enthusi- 
asm of  youth  and  in  touch  with  the  most  modem 
methods,  while  at  the  same  time  it  retains  the  services 
of  the  older  men,  ripe  in  learning  and  experience.  The 
aggressiveness  and  dash  of  youth,  so  potent  to  kindle  a 
like  spirit  in  young  men,  is  happily  wedded  to  the  cau- 
tion and  wisdom  of  riper  years. 

The  small  college  has  its  distinct  advantages,  how- 
ever, provided  it  is  well-equipped  for  its  particular 
function,  and  possesses  men  of  learning,  who  are  true 
teachers,  able  to  impart  knowledge  and  stimulate  stu- 
dents. In  the  small  college  the  student  comes  into 
direct  contact  with  his  professors.  The  professor  and 
the  student  meet  together  and  know  each  other.    The 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  135 

young  man  regards  the  older  as  a  friend,  counsels 
with  him  about  his  studies  and  his  future.  The  pro- 
fessor becomes  interested  in  the  man  and  the  develop- 
ment of  iiis  character.  He  has  time  and  opportunity 
to  know  his  student.  In  the  university  much  of  this 
is  lost.  The  unformed  tutor  is  too  often  the  instructor 
of  the  student.  The  professor  and  the  boy  do  not  come 
into  constant  and  intimate  personal  contact. 

There  is,  too,  a  distinct  advantage  to  the  student  of 
the  smaller  college  in  the  field  it  gives  him  for  the  de- 
velopment of  individuality  and  personal  power.  One 
has  well  said :  "As  numbers  diminish,  individual  re- 
sponsibility increases.  Few  things  are  of  more  im- 
portance for  an  American  boy  than  that  he  should 
early  come  to  feel  a  degree  of  personal  responsibility 
for  the  organic  and  social  life  about  him.  It  is  a  great 
injury  to  a  boy  and  to  public  interests  that  he  should 
grow  up  content  to  be  'one  of  the  mass,'  to  have  his 
thinking  done  for  him,  and  to  take  no  part  and  feel 
no  obligation  in  relation  to  what  affects  the  common 
welfare.  In  the  small  college  the  individual  counts  for 
the  utmost.  His  influence  is  at  its  maximum.  Others 
find  him  out.  he  finds  himself  out  and  he  finds  his  own 
place.  In  the  organizations  of  the  college  he  finds 
the  freest  scope  for  whatever  talent  he  has  for  leader- 
ship, counsel  or  helpful  co-operation.  The  college  is 
thus  a  gymnasium  for  the  development  of  individual 
manhood." 

Perhaps  here  is  the  reason  why  so  large  a  proportion 
of  the  masterful  men  in  literature,  statesmanship  and 
religion  have  been  the  sons  of  the  small  college.  But 
we  come  now  to  a  graver  consideration,  namely,  the 
consideration  of  moral  and  religious  influence.  The 
undergraduate  days  are  those  in  which  a  young  man 
is  most  sensitive  to  influence  in  manners  and  morals, 
faith  and  character.  Dr.  Patton  says  :  "A  father  may 
well  feel  that  his  son's  refined  demeanor  would  be  a 
poor  offset  to  his  loss  of  religious  faith,  and  that  great 


136  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

attainments  would  not  atone  for  bad  habits.  A  young 
man  would  do  well  to  consider  the  moral  as  well  as  the 
intellectual  influences  that  surround  a  college  or  uni- 
versity. His  undergraduate  life  will  certainly  not  be 
a  conspicuous  success  if  he  fails  to  acquire  as  the  re- 
sult of  it  that  discipline  of  his  powers  and  that  degree 
of  knowledge  necessary  for  independent  inquiry.  But 
it  will  certainly  be  a  conspicuous  failure  if  he  does  not 
learn  to  scorn  everything  that  is  base  and  mean ;  if  he 
does  not  come  into  possession  of  high  ideals  of  con- 
duct, and,  above  all,  if  he  ceases  to  maintain  a  reverent 
attitude  toward  the  spiritual  side  of  life. 

"The  first  thing  to  be  considered  in  regard  to  an  in- 
stitution of  learning,  whatever  be  its  size  and  whereso- 
ever it  be  situated,  is,  what  is  the  moral  tone  of  the 
place  and  what  efforts  are  made  there  to  keep  the 
students  under  the  best  influences?" 

The  instinct  of  the  Church  has  been  correct  when  it 
provided  the  denominational  college,  with  professors 
decided  in  Christian  life  and  doctrine.  It  was  the  in- 
stinct of  self-preservation,  but  also  the  perception  that 
its  peculiar  life  could  only  exert  its  strongest  influence 
where  the  conditions  were  favorable  to  that  life.  It 
had  regard  for  the  young  man  as  well  as  for  itself. 

Such  colleges  have  in  the  past  wonderfully  won  men 
to  Christ.  There  the  religious  life  has  become  precious 
to  many.  These  colleges,  through  their  instructors 
strong  in  intellect  and  devoted  to  God,  have  often  been 
the  means  of  salvation  to  thoughtless  young  men.  It 
is  remarkable  that  with  a  few  noble  exceptions  our 
educated  Lutheran  laymen,  who  are  of  untold  value  to 
the  Church,  were  educated  in  our  Lutheran  denomina- 
tional colleges. 

There  is  a  distinction  from  the  beginning  between 
colleges.  Some  are  founded  from  convictions,  convic- 
tions of  their  absolute  need  as  educational  and  moral 
factors.  All  over  this  land  there  are  found  colleges 
built  to  exploit  a  town  and  add  to  its  attractions.    But 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  137 

Others  have  been  founded  on  conviction,  have  been 
begun  in  sacrifice  and  continued  in  sacrifice.  Carthage 
and  Midland,  as  well  as  Hartwick,  Gettysburg,  W'it- 
tenberg  and  Susquehanna,  stand  for  conviction  and 
sacrifice  by  self-denial  and  high  ideals.  The  moral 
atmosphere  thus  engendered  remains  to  invigorate  the 
pulses  of  the  spiritual  life. 

The  state  universities  are  the  outcome  of  our  educa- 
tional system.  We  do  not  condemn  them,  but  they  are 
not  distinctively  Christian,  either  in  the  selection  of 
professors  or  in  their  influence.  They  cannot  be,  when 
the  demand  is  that  there  shall  be  no  distinctive  reli- 
gious teaching,  when  many  who  occupy  chairs  are 
either  indiflferent  to  or  openly  antagonistic  to  Chris- 
tianity. Religious  influences  there  are,  but  they  are  not 
dominant. 

The  same  conditions  prevail  in  others  of  the  uni- 
versities not  supported  by  the  state.  The  moral  and 
religious  influences  are  not  dominant.  How  true  this 
statement  is,  the  following,  quoted  by  Dr.  Ray  before 
the  Presbyterian  General  Assembly,  substantiates : 

"President  Holden,  of  Wooster,  has  just  made  an 
exhaustive  study  of  the  catalogues  of  all  theological 
seminaries  in  this  country.  They  contain  191 5  theo- 
logical students  who  are  college  graduates.  Of  these 
191 5  theological  students  1805  come  from  Christian 
colleges  and  universities,  and  the  remaining  no  from 
non-Christian  (secularized  and  undenominational)  col- 
leges. 

"I  find  by  a  careful  collation  of  the  last  report  of  the 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  the  follow- 
ing facts:  There  are  about  54,000  youths  in  college 
classes  in  this  country,  about  28,000  of  them  in  Chris- 
tian, and  25,000  of  them  in  non-Christian  colleges. 

"So  there  is  at  present  one  college  graduate  theo- 
logical student  for  every  16  students  in  Christian  col- 
leges, and  one  college  graduate  theological  student  for 
every  230  students  in  non-Christian  colleges." 


138  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

Whilst  it  is  true  we  do  not  wish  our  colleges  to  be 
mere  preparatory  schools  for  ministers,  we  do  desire 
that  out  of  them  our  ministry  should  come.  We  do 
demand  that  the  religious  influence  shall  be  such  that 
not  only  men  may  be  led  to  the  ministry,  but  also  that 
other  educated  men,  lawyers,  doctors,  men  of  science, 
engineers  and  the  like,  be  established  in  the  faith,  their 
religious  convictions  deepened,  and  they  be  men  with  a 
deep  sense  of  their  obligations  to  their  fellow-men  and 
God.  Nevertheless  we  cannot  appeal  to  the  loyalty 
of  our  people  alone  to  sustain  the  denominational  col- 
lege. Lutheran  is  a  great  word  wherewith  to  charm, 
but  it  will  not  charm  parents  to  send  forth  their  chil- 
dren imperfectly  equipped  for  life's  strenuous  strug- 
gles. There  must  be  more  than  the  name.  In  the 
chairs  there  must  be  men  able  and  trained  to  teach, 
there  must  be  equipment  fitted  to  the  requirements  of 
the  advanced  demands  of  knowledge.  It  is  not  to  be 
expected  that  parents  will  handicap  their  children  in 
the  strenuous  race  of  the  present  Ijfe  by  sending  them 
to  Lutheran  colleges  which  do  not  afford  an  education 
equal  to  that  given  by  other  colleges. 

The  Church,  if  it  would  keep  its  young  men  under 
its  influence,  can  only  do  so  by  strengthening  the  col- 
lege faculties.  Men  can  no  longer  instruct  students  in 
several  branches  and  teach  each  branch  well.  That  is, 
in  these  days  of  specialization,  the  student  can  gain  in- 
spiration for  study  in  a  special  branch  alone  from  those 
who  are  masters  in  the  department  with  which  they 
deal,  enthusiasts  themselves,  because  they  do  original 
work  and  by  independent  study  gain  that  mastery  and 
love  for  their  work  which  brings  the  breath  of  life  and 
enthusiasm  to  others. 

But  this  means  a  large  corps  of  instructors  even 
for  the  small  college,  fifteen  to  twenty-five  professors. 
It  means  thorough  equipment,  good  libraries,  scientific 
apparatus,  and — as  it  has  come  to  be  a  truism  that  the 
body  as  well  as  intellect  and  spirit  must  be  cared  for, 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  139 

that  intellect  and  spirit  may  have  strong  bodies  to  re- 
spond to  their  demands — there  must  be  abundant  op- 
portunity to  build  up  the  body. 

The  best  instructors  must  be  adequately  supported 
if  they  are  to  be  at  our  command.  This  means  money. 
Equipment  means  money.  Physical  appliances  mean 
money. 

Contrast  on  this  Western  field  what  the  State  Uni- 
versities spend  in  a  year  for  maintenance.  $180,000 
in  Nebraska,  $120,000  in  Kansas.  Iowa  as  much,  if 
not  more.  Then  contrast  our  own  colleges  on  this  ter- 
ritory and  understand  the  fearful  odds  with  which 
they  contend. 

The  following,  which  appeared  in  The  Saturday 
Evening  Post,  in  an  article  entitled,  "Recent  Gifts  to 
Colleges,"  by  James  Melvin  Lee,  indicates  how  rapidly 
colleges  and  universities  are  increasing  their  endow- 
ments and  multiplying  their  facilities  and  attractions : 

Mr.  E.  L.  Godkin,  in  retiring  from  the  editorship 
of  the  Neiv  York  Evening  Post,  published  his  recol- 
lections of  nearly  half  a  century  of  journalism,  in 
which  he  took  a  pessimistic  view  of  the  press  and  the 
pulpit;  but  he  thought  that  the  progress  made  by  col- 
leges, big  or  little,  both  in  the  quality  of  instruction 
and  in  the  amount  of  money  received  from  personal 
gifts  and  bequests,  was  something  unparalleled  in  the 
history  of  the  world. 

Though  this  is  an  era  of  large  gifts,  small  ones  are 
so  numerous  that  in  the  aggregate  they  rival  the 
former.  One  denomination  has  raised,  chiefly  by  small 
subscriptions,  nearly  $5,000,000  for  its  schools,  as  a 
twentieth  century  thank-ofifering.  The  endowment  of 
Brown  University  has  recently  been  increased  by  more 
than  $1,000,000;  the  complete  list  of  the  subscribers 
to  this  fund,  published  in  the  Brozvn  Alumni  Monthly, 
numbered,  by  actual  count,  176  persons,  and,  deduct- 
ing the  $250,000  from  Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller,  it 
was  for  the  most  part  given  in  fairly  small  amounts. 


140  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  bequests  of  the  past 
year  was  $1,500,000  left  by  Mrs.  Josephine  L.  New- 
comb,  of  New  York  City,  to  Tulane  University.  Ac- 
cording to  information  received  from  the  secretary  of 
that  institution  she  had  also  given  $300,000  just  before 
her  death.  Fifty  thousand  dollars  has  been  received 
to  found  the  library.  Large  gifts  have  been  hitherto 
confined  to  Northern  colleges — a  fact  which  the  South 
has  lamented — but,  perhaps,  the  tide  is  now  turning. 

Cornell  College,  of  Mount  Vernon,  Iowa,  through 
two  of  the  trustees,  Senator  Allison  and  Governor 
Shaw,  has  secured  the  promise  of  $40,000  from  Mr. 
Carnegie.  Of  course  it  is  for  a  library,  and  the  condi- 
tions are  that  it  shall  be  free  to  students  and  to  citi- 
zens, and  that  the  sum  of  $4000  shall  be  guaranteed 
for  its  maintenance.  Other  gifts  amount  to  over 
$200,000. 

Cornell  University,  of  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  has  received 
$75,000  for  enlarging  the  Sibley  College  of  Mechanical 
Engineering.     Other  donations  foot  up  $141,953. 

The  principal  gift  to  Syracuse  University  the  past 
year  was  for  a  "College  of  Applied  Science,"  by  Mr. 
Lyman  C.  Smith.  He  believes  that  it  will  cost  not  less 
than  $725,000  before  it  is  finished.  Mr.  John  D.  Atch- 
bold  has  promised  $400,000  for  endowment,  provided 
an  equal  amount  is  raised  by  other  friends  of  the  in- 
stitution. 

Amherst  has  raised  $100,000  to  increase  the  sala- 
ries of  its  professors,  has  added  $50,000  to  its  endow- 
ment, and  has  raised  $5000  for  various  purposes.  A 
promise  of  $25,000  has  been  announced  to  be  added  to 
the  fund  for  a  new  observatory  building  in  case  a  like 
sum  can  be  procured. 

Oberlin  has  received  $120,000  for  a  gymnasium 
and  a  chemical  laboratory.  In  addition,  Mr.  John  D. 
Rockefeller  has  made  a  provisional  offer  of  $200,000 
for  general  endowment,  provided  the  college  raises 
$300,000  before  January  i,  1902.    According  to  official 


SERMON'S  AND  PAPERS  141 

information  $150,000  has  already  been  provided  for. 

Exclusive  of  the  gifts  made  to  the  Bi-Centennial 
^lemorial  Fund,  which  now  amounts  to  more  than 
$300,000,  Yale  has  received  over  $145,000  since  July 
31,  1900.  An  anonymous  gift  of  $96,000  for  building 
a  dispensary  under  the  charge  of  the  medical  depart- 
ment has  also  been  received.  Harvard  is  reported, 
though  not  officially,  to  have  received  $735,000. 

Other  donations  and  bequests  received  by  Ameri- 
can colleges  are  as  follows :  Lafayette,  $84,500 ;  Prince- 
ton, $250,000;  Pennsylvania,  $540,000 ;  Clark,  $3,000,- 
000;  Dartmouth,  $210,000;  Western  Reserve,  $150,- 
000;  University  of  Michigan,  $39,900;  Ohio  Wesleyan, 
$600,000;  Union,  $55,000;  Columbia,  $492,000;  Alle- 
gheny, $170,000;  American  University,  $130,000;  De 
Pauw,  $242,500;  Dickinson,  $51,500,  and  Wesleyan, 
$70,000. 

Thirty  years  ago  our  Lutheran  colleges,  in  endow- 
ment, equipment,  number  of  instructors,  compared 
much  more  favorably  with  the  leading  colleges  of  the 
land  than  they  do  now.  There  is  before  us  no  more 
necessary  work,  nor  one  that  our  wealthy  men  should 
more  earnestly  sustain  with  large  benefactions  than  the 
increase  of  the  endowment  and  equipment  of  our  col- 
leges. If  it  be  neglected,  the  future  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  will  be  meager  in  results.  The  Church,  shorn 
of  strength,  vitality  and  aggressiveness,  will  have  little 
influence  as  a  religious  factor  in  the  land. 

Such  are  the  facts.  What  relation  has  our  Board  of 
Education  to  do  with  these  facts?  The  Board  of  Edu- 
cation enables  us  to  found,  maintain  and  strengthen 
the  colleges  just  w^here  our  Church  is  now  weak,  but 
when  it  has  every  promise  of  a  glorious  future. 

Long  ago  it  w^as  seen  that  if  our  Church  was  to  sup- 
ply the  needs  of  its  membership,  and  retain  its  edu- 
cated young  men  and  women,  it  must  have  its  own 
institutions  right  here  on  this  western  soil.  Splendid 
Gettysburg  and  Wittenberg  could  not  draw  those  seek- 


142  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

ing  higher  education  to  their  walls  past  colleges  at  their 
very  doors.  They  went  to  these  nearby  institutions, 
but  they  failed  in  many  instances  to  return  Lutherans. 
Young  men  trained  in  our  seminaries  East  were  not  in 
touch  with  the  life  of  the  West,  and  soon  grew  weary 
of  work  here  and  returned  to  the  East,  where  they 
felt  more  at  home.  Our  ministry  was  peripatetic,  our 
congregations  languished.  It  was  absolutely  necessary 
to  found  Midland  and  strengthen  Carthage,  to  build  on 
western  soil  a  seminary  whose  young  men  knew  the 
great  people  of  the  Western  States,  thought  their 
thoughts,  lived  their  life  and  were  proud  of  their  States 
and  thrilled  with  fiery  pulsations  of  love  for  their 
honor  and  glory.  The  few  years  of  work  which  have 
given  us  the  noble  men  who  are  doing  splendid  work 
in  these  Western  States  have  proven  the  wisdom  of  all 
this  thought. 

But  the  Board  of  Education  stands  for  more.  It 
stands  for  practical  endowment.  The  money  the  Board 
receives  is  for  direct  expenditure,  not  for  endowment. 
If  the  Church  gives  it  an  income  of  $15,000,  it  is  equiv- 
alent to  $300,000  endowment,  $25,000  to  $500,000  en- 
dowments for  the  colleges  it  aids.  It  makes  the  college 
financially  strong  until  the  institution's  constituents 
endow  it  well,  that  the  Board  may  found  other  insti- 
tutions needed  in  other  portions  of  our  vast  country. 

The  ministry  and  membership  of  the  General  Synod 
should  intelligently  grasp  the  situation.  This  is  neces- 
sary work,  missionary  work  of  the  highest  order.  Col- 
leges to  the  Church  are  like  West  Point  and  the  Naval 
Academy  to  the  nation.  The  Church  is  militant  before 
it  is  triumphant.  The  Church  is  engaged  in  the  fiercest 
of  all  wars,  wars  waged  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but 
against  principalities  and  against  powers,  against  the 
rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual 
wickedness  in  high  places.  Every  member  of  the 
Church  is  or  may  be  a  soldier  in  this  glorious  war,  but 
these  soldiers  of  the  Church  need  leaders  and  trained 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  143 

leaders.  Captains  of  the  Lord's  hosts,  under  captains 
of  that  Great  Captain  of  our  salvation,  Jesus  Christ. 
Our  colleges  and  seminaries  train  them  to  lead  the 
membership  to  victory.  The  Church,  therefore,  that 
has  the  eye  to  see,  the  brain  to  conceive,  the  will  to  act, 
will  put  its  training  schools  just  where  they  are  needed 
and  when  they  are  needed.  To  this  end  it  will  not 
count  the  cost  of  sacrifice  and  gifts;  for  here,  under 
God,  it  realizes  is  the  way  to  victory. 


THE  GREAT  CONFESSION 

Ciesarea  Philippi  was  a  town  of  some  importance, 
beautifully  situated  at  the  source  of  the  eastern  or 
longer  branch  of  the  Jordan.  "It  had  formerly  been 
called  Paneas,  from  the  heathen  god  Pan,  who  was 
worshiped  by  the  Syrian  Greeks  in  the  limestone  cav- 
ern nearby,  in  which  Jordan's  fountains  bubbled  forth 
to  light.  Its  name  was  given  to  it  by  Philip,  tetrarch  of 
Trachonitis,  in  honor  of  Caesar  Augustus ;  his  own 
name  being  appended  (Csesarea  Philippi,  or,  Philip's 
Caesarea)  to  distinguish  it  from  the  other  town  of  the 
same  name  on  the  Mediterranean  coast." 

Jesus  came  into  the  neighborhood  of  this  city  that 
in  this  seclusion  He  might  spend  a  season  in  secret 
prayer  and  prepare  His  disciples  for  the  beginning  of 
the  end  of  His  earthly  ministry.  The  Christian  Church 
was  to  take  up  His  work  in  the  near  future;  that 
Church  was  to  be  built  upon  Him  as  the  Messiah,  the 
Saviour  of  mankind,  and  as  the  divine  Son  of  God. 
When  the  apostles  believed  and  confessed  Him  thus, 
the  Church  could  be  entrusted  to  them.  He  could  go 
up  to  Jerusalem  to  be  crucified  that  He  might  thus  set 
forth  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God,  conquering  sin 
and  death  for  men,  triumphantly  sealing  the  victory 
by  His  resurrection.  He  could  thus  lay  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Church  and  build  through  the  apostles  and 
their  successors,  proclaimiing  this  faith,  the  Church 
against  which  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail. 

To  draw  from  them  a  profession  of  their  own  faith, 
our  Lord  asks  the  apostles  concerning  His  Person, 
"Who  do  men  say  that  I,  the  Son  of  man,  am  ?"  As 
Bruce  well  says,  "This  question  He  asked,  not  as  one 
needing  to  be  informed,  still  less  from  any  morbid 
sensitiveness,  such  as  vain  men  feel  respecting  the 
opinions  entertained  of  them  by  their  fellow-creatures. 
He  desired  of  His  disciples  a  recital  of  current  opin- 

144 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  145 

ions  merely  by  way  of  preface  to  a  profession  of  their 
own  faith  in  the  eternal  truth  concerning  Himself." 
They  must  know  Him  as  Messiah  before  He  could 
talk  to  them  plainly  of  His  death. 

They,  in  their  answer,  convey  to  us  the  impression 
which  Jesus  had  made  upon  the  people.  To  them  He 
was  more  than  the  ordinary  teacher  of  the  Jews.  His 
strong  personality  reminded  some  of  John  the  Baptist, 
others  of  Elijah,  others  of  Jeremiah,  -others  of  other 
prophets.  To  them  He  was  of  God,  like  yet  unlike 
those  that  had  made  the  nations  glorious  by  their  great- 
ness and  nearness  to  God.  The  many-sidedness  of 
Christ,  in  His  inflexibility.  His  devotion  to  truth,  His 
miraculous  power.  His  tenderness,  the  wisdom  and 
beauty  of  His  words,  made  him  now  like  this  one,  now 
like  that  prophet.  But  they  did  not  realize  Him  as  He 
was  in  His  own  Person. 

He  now  searches  the  apostles  with  the  personal 
question,  crucial  in  its  character,  testing  the  knowledge 
they  had  gained  of  Him  in  their  intimate  fellowship 
with  Him,  "Who  say  ye  that  I  am?" 

Simon  Peter,  quick  and  ready,  answers,  as  their 
acquiescent  silence  shows,  for  them  as  well  as  for  him- 
self, in  the  memorable  words,  "Thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God."  In  this  answer  are  found 
two  distinct  acknowledgments.  First,  that  Jesus  was 
the  Christ,  the  Messiah,  foretold  by  the  prophets,  ap- 
pointed of  God,  and,  secondly,  that  He  was  the  divine 
Son  of  God.  It  is  not  merely  a  confession  of  a  Mes- 
siah, such  as  the  Jews  expected,  a  man  of  men,  but  a 
distinct  acknowledgment  of  the  divine  nature  of 
Christ,  a  truth  which  was  contrary  to  Jewish  thought, 
and  opposed  to  the  monotheism  in  which  Peter  had 
been  bred.  On  this  faith  the  Church  of  Christ  has 
been  built  and  abides  even  to  this  day,  and  must  ever 
abide.  Jesus  the  Saviour  from  sin,  Jesus  the  only- 
begotten  Son,  in  essence  one  with  the  Father,  is  the 
comfort,  strength  and  foundation  of  the  Church. 

10 


146  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

The  words  of  Peter  are  aflame  with  the  light  of 
truth  and  ahve  with  the  deepest  convictions  of  a  heart 
and  mind  hfted  out  of  the  commonplace  into  the  higher 
realms  of  the  supernatural.  Christ  responds  to  these 
passionate  words  with  a  counter-utterance  which  al- 
most seems  to  lift  Him  out  of  that  singular  calmness 
so  conspicuous  in  all  His  words  and  deeds.  But,  as 
has  been  intimated,  as  the  Church  first  made  confes- 
sion in  Peter,  so  here  the  Lord  confesses  the  Church 
in  words  of  approving  love.  "Blessed  art  thou,  Simon 
Bar-jona;  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto 
thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  We  pass  by 
the  mystical  interpretation  that  Simon  Bar-jona  means 
Simon,  son  of  the  dove,  that  is,  child  of  the  Spirit,  the 
heavenly  Dove,  and  rather  consider  that  the  Lord  ad- 
dresses Peter  by  his  original  name,  Simon,  son  of  Jona. 
Our  Lord  indicates  in  the  words  spoken  to  Peter  that 
the  man  who  has  faith  in  Him  as  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  living  God,  is  blessed.  He  has  become  a  child 
of  God.  He  also  sets  forth  that  this  insight  into  truth 
is  the  work  of  God.  This  truth  so  marvelous  and 
faith  were  not  reached  by  Peter's  wisdom  or  through 
the  teaching  of  others.  "Flesh  and  blood  hath  not 
revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven."  God  doth  work  with  men  to  enkindle  faith, 
and  revealeth  the  truth.  This  insight  was  from  above, 
even  as  Paul  later  explains  when  he  writes,  "No  man 
can  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 

May  we  not  learn  that  we  may  never  be  blessed  until 
we  know  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God?  Whatever  we  seek,  or  learn,  or  gain,  still  will 
the  soul  be  unsatisfied.  There  will  be  sadness.  No 
fact  is  more  apparent  in  modern  life  than  the  sadness 
and  unrest  of  the  thinkers  and  the  doers  outside  of 
Christ.  Whatever  they  may  gather  or  win,  still  they 
are  not  blessed.  Blessedness  is  not  in  ourselves,  but  in 
God,  to  whom  we  cannot  come  except  through  Christ 
Jesus.   Without  Him,  we  know  not  God ;  without  Him, 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  147 

sin  is  unforgiven;  without  Him,  there  is  no  sonship 
with  the  Father;  without  Him,  there  is  no  certainty  of 
victory.  He  is  blessed  who  hath  found  the  Father 
through  Christ:  to  him  is  knowledge,  forgiveness, 
peace,  sonship,  victory,  now  and  hereafter. 

And  may  we  not  also  see  how  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
reveal  Christ  unto  those  who,  like  Peter,  are  with 
Jesus,  studying  Him  and  His  words?  Peter  could  not 
make  this  confession  at  once.  Slowly  he  was  lifted 
from  one  truth  to  another,  from  the  teacher  to  the 
earthly  Messiah,  and  then  the  Spirit  opening  his  eyes, 
he  saw  Him,  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 
Even  so  we,  with  Him  in  His  word  and  life,  will  reach 
the  conviction  wrought  of  God,  my  Saviour  and  my 
Lord,  God  manifest  for  me  in  the  flesh. 

The  words  which  follow  have  been  bitterly  con- 
tested. To  them  the  Romanist  refers  to  establish  the 
primacy  of  St.  Peter  and  of  his  successors,  the  popes. 
Protestants  differ  in  their  interpretation  of  the  passage. 
By  some  it  is  maintained  that  our  Lord  meant  by  this 
rock  Himself,  and  upon  Himself  He  builds  the  Church. 
Others  interpret  the  rock  as  meaning  the  faith  con- 
fessed by  Peter,  whilst  others  that  it  was  upon  Peter 
confessing  the  faith  that  the  Church  was  to  be  built. 
The  Romanist  view  is  untenable,  having  no  foundation 
in  the  saying  itself,  no  warrant  obtained  from  the 
after-history  of  the  apostles,  no  support  from  the 
words  and  deeds  of  Peter  himself. 

Either  of  the  two  interpretations  that  the  rock  is  the 
faith  confessed  by  Peter,  or  Peter  confessing  the  faith, 
may  be  accepted,  for  they  agree  in  asserting  the 
supreme  important  nature  of  the  truth  confessed. 
Luther  held  that  it  was  the  confession,  the  rock  on 
which  Peter,  and  all  Peters  (that  is,  all  Christians), 
are  built.  As  one  well  says,  "Peter  is  called  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Church  only  in  the  same  sense  as  all  the 
apostles  are  called  the  foundation  by  the  Apostle  Paul 
(Eph.  2  :2o),  viz..  As  the  first  preachers  of  the  true 


148  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

faith  concerning  Jesus  as  the  Christ  and  Son  of 
God ;  and  if  the  man  who  first  professed  that  faith  be 
honored  by  being  called  individually  the  rock,  that  only 
shows  that  the  faith,  and  not  the  man,  is  after  all  the 
true  foundation.  That  which  makes  Simon  a  Petra,  a 
rock-like  man,  tit  to  build  upon,  is  the  real  Petra,  on 
which  the  Church  is  to  be  built."  Yet,  truth  is  realized 
in  men.  We  have  learned  the  worth  of  personality. 
The  Lord  Himself  is  the  strength  of  Christianity.  His 
words  and  His  works  are  not  without  Him,  but  live  be- 
cause He  lives.  Faith  confessed  must  have  confessors. 
It  becomes  vital  when  the  man  is  possessed  by  it. 
Justly,  therefore,  does  Christ  say  that  upon  Peter, 
confessing  the  faith,  is  His  Church  to  be  built,  the 
Church  which  is  not  a  structure  of  senseless  stones,  but 
of  men  who  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  living  God,  and  confess  this  truth  with  the  heart. 

In  words  which  declare  the  essential  and  supreme 
character  of  the  Church,  the  Lord  speaks  of  it.  "Upon 
this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church ;  and  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it."  He  refers  but  seldom  to 
the  Church,  but  this  reference  is  enough,  for  the 
Church  is  my  Church,  precious.  It  is,  moreover,  inde- 
structible and  invincible,  a  refuge  against  evil  and  the 
pledge  of  safety  against  all  the  hosts  of  hell  and  death. 
These  words  rightly  read  are  a  protest  against  the 
depreciation  of  the  Church  and  the  exaltation  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  as  has  become  the  fashion  with 
many  in  our  day.  The  promise  is  to  the  men  of  good 
confession  in  the  Church,  and  unto  them  are  given  the 
keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  which  can  have  but 
one  meaning  in  this  connection,  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ,  my  Church.  Let  us  see  to  it  then  that  we  de- 
spise not  the  Church,  but  magnify  it,  be  of  it  and  in  it, 
that  unto  us  may  pertain  the  promise  of  the  Lord, 
"The  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it." 

It  is  not  merely  meant  by  these  words  that  the 
Church  built  upon  Jesus  the  Saviour,  the  Son  of  the 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  149 

living  God,  shall  overcome  all  opposition  of  evil  in  this 
world.  She  indeed  is  the  anvil  on  which  all  hammers 
are  broken,  but  the  Lord  not  merely  sets  forth  that 
He  builds  that  which  shall  abide  in  all  time  (wonderful 
prophecy!),  but  that  the  gates  of  Hades,  the  prison 
of  the  dead,  shall  have  no  power  over  the  members  of 
Christ's  Church.  They  shall  be  rescued  from  the 
power  of  death  by  His  redemption,  and  be  united  with 
Him  in  His  heavenly  kingdom.  The  victory  is  not  of 
this  world  alone,  but  of  the  world  to  come.  Blessed 
are  they  who  are  in  the  "congregation  of  faithful  men." 

To  Peter,  as  the  believing  confessor  of  the  truth, 
the  Lord  is  grateful,  and  shows  this  "gratitude  by 
promising  first  to  him,  individually,  a  power  which  He 
afterwards  conferred  on  all  His  chosen  disciples." 
"I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven :  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth 
shall  be  bound  in  heaven ;  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt 
loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."  The  king- 
dom of  heaven  means  evidently  the  Church  of  Christ. 
The  power  of  the  keys  is  thus  given  unto  Peter  and  to 
all  Christian  believers ;  the  power  to  admit  the  peni- 
tent and  believing  into  the  Church,  the  power  to  re- 
ject the  impenitent  and  unbelieving,  the  power  to  de- 
clare the  forgiveness  of  sins,  the  power  to  discipline 
the  erring  and  to  suspend  the  reprobate,  a  power  given 
only  to  men  believing.  Peter,  remaining  true  to  his 
confession,  had  this  grant,  but  when  he  wavered  or 
declined  from  the  truth,  he  lost  it.  Gerlach  has  wisely 
spoken,  "The  Christian  Church  possesses  this  power 
of  the  keys,  not  in  its  outward  capacity  of  organiza- 
tion, but  in  so  far  as  the  Spirit  rules  in  it.  Hence, 
whenever  it  is  exercised  as  a  merely  outward  law, 
without  the  Spirit,  the  Lord  in  His  providence  dis- 
owns these  false  pretensions  of  the  visible  Church." 

The  time  had  not  come  to  openly  avow  that  He  was 
the  Messiah.  His  life  must  be  completed  ere  the 
apostles  could  go  forth  to  proclaim  Him  the  Saviour, 


150  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

the  Son  of  God,  preaching  Him  crucified  for  sin  and 
risen  again  for  the  justification  of  men.  How  Httle 
men  were  prepared  for  the  Messiah  who  should  die, 
the  remaining  verses  fully  set  forth.  "From  that  time 
forth  began  Jesus  to  show  unto  His  disciples  how  that 
He  must  go  unto  Jerusalem  and  suffer  many  things 
of  the  elders  and  chief  priests  and  scribes,  and  be 
killed,  and  be  raised  again  the  third  day."  He  had 
hinted  at  His  death  before,  but  He  had  never  spoken 
plainly  of  it.  They  were  not  prepared.  Their  faith 
was  not  clear  concerning  His  Person.  Now,  at  length 
He  might  prepare  them  who  believed  for  what  must 
surely  come.  He  unfolds  to  them  the  sad  future.  At 
Jerusalem,  the  holy  city,  He  must  suffer  many  things, 
the  foul  betrayal,  the  indignities,  the  mockery,  the  suf- 
erings  unutterable  He  did  but  hint  at.  Those  who 
should  inflict  these  nameless  horrors  were  the  religious 
leaders,  whose  hatred  would  only  be  satisfied  by  His 
death — "He  should  be  killed."  Then,  to  comfort  them. 
He  adds,  "I  shall  be  raised  again  the  third  day."  Out 
of  all  this  suffering  and  shame  and  death  there  should 
come  victory  at  last.  He  would  prevail,  not  as  an 
earthly  king,  by  a  victory  of  this  life,  but  of  the  eter- 
nal life,  overcoming  death  itself. 

Even  this  was  more  than  the  faith  of  the  apostles 
could  bear,  Peter,  ever  impetuous,  took  Him  either 
by  the  garment  or  by  the  hand,  and  began  to  rebuke 
Him,  whom  he  had  just  confessed  as  the  Son  of  God. 
"Be  it  far  from  Thee ;  this  shall  not  be  unto  Thee." 
His  attitude  is  amazing  in  its  presumption  and  irrev- 
erence, contradictory  of  the  faith  he  had  just  so  nobly 
expressed.  But  the  Lord  who  commends  can  also 
correct,  and  the  scathing  words  are  spoken  to  Peter: 
"Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan ;  thou  art  an  offence,  a 
stumbling-block  unto  me ;  for  thou  savourest  not  the 
things  that  be  of  God,  but  the  things  that  be  of  men." 
Peter  was  here  the  instrument  of  Satan.  He  used 
him  to  dissuade,  if  possible,  Christ  from  the  way  of  the 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  151 

cross — to  choose  man's  ways  to  prevail,  even  as  he  had 
otfered  them  to  Christ  in  the  temptation  in  the  wilder- 
ness. Therefore  He  answered  Peter  so  sternly.  Peter, 
in  the  confession  of  the  truth,  had  been  the  rock  on 
which  the  Church  would  be  built.  Peter,  as  the  in- 
strument of  Satan,  was  an  otifence,  a  stumbling-block,  a 
rock  of  offence.  Stern  are  the  words,  but  merited,  for 
he  sought  to  turn  the  Lord  from  the  way  marked  out 
for  Him,  and  to  lead  Him  to  the  way  of  self-pleasing, 
the  way  by  which  Satan  tempted  the  first  Adam  to  his 
ruin.    He  rebuked  him  justly,  and  to  his  eternal  profit. 

May  we  not  learn  that  our  faith,  which  the  Lord 
may  honor,  is  yet  full  of  human  infirmity  ?  Easily  we 
may  be  tempted.  Easily  we  may  become  an  offence 
unto  the  Master.  We  ought  to  pray,  "Lord,  I  believe ; 
help  Thou  my  unbelief." 

Again,  every  word  of  Christ,  however  hard  it  may 
appear,  is  full  of  truth,  and  its  acceptance  is  our  com- 
fort and  salvation.  It  was  hard  to  think  that  Christ 
must  suffer  and  die,  yet  it  was  the  only  way  to  save 
Peter,  the  apostles,  the  world.  Its  humble  acceptance 
was  the  right  thing  for  Peter.  There  are  words  of 
Christ  at  which  we  stumble,  beyond  and  apparently 
contrary  to  our  wisdom.  But  accept  them  and  it  shall 
be  well.  Is  He  not  divine,  the  Son  of  God  ?  And  who 
art  thou? 

Again,  how  great  comfort  that  Christ  will  commend 
and  honor  our  faith  as  He  did  Peter's.  His  commen- 
dation is  ever  ready  to  be  bestowed  upon  the  believer. 
The  Lord  loves  infinitely.  And,  therefore,  too.  He  is 
quick  to  rebuke  and  correct  us  and  so  save  us  from  our 
errors.  We  can  trust  Him.  He  will  not  withhold 
from  us  that  which  is  ours,  rather  He  abundantly  re- 
wards, nor  will  He  hesitate  to  lay  upon  us  the  rod,  and 
correct  us  for  our  faults.  So.  at  length,  we  shall  pre- 
vail against  evil  in  this  life.  The  gates  of  death  shall 
not  prevail  against  us,  but  we  shall  abide  with  Him 
in  the  New  Jerusalem,  the  Church  above,  forever. 


OUR  LUTHERAN  CHURCH  AND  HIGHER 
CRITICISM 

The  Lutheran  Church  was  born  when  Martin  Luther, 
through  the  Scriptures,  was  led  to  faith  in  Christ. 
Christ  and  His  gospel  became  to  him  the  test  of  all 
truth,  even  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures.  His  faith  in 
Christ  did  not  primarily  depend  upon  faith  in  the 
Bible,  but  upon  Christ  Himself,  through  whom  he  had 
come  to  forgiveness  of  sin  and  life  with  God.  He 
knew  the  Bible  to  be  God's  word  because  it  taught  him 
Christ. 

He  no  less  taught  that  the  Holy  Spirit  must  give  a 
man  insight  into  the  truths  of  Scripture.  These  can- 
not be  discerned  by  the  natural  man.  The  true  theo- 
logian is  the  man  who  has  first  been  made  Christ's 
and  then  led  into  riches  of  spiritual  experiences.  Here 
is  the  only  key  that  will  unlock  the  Scriptures.  Schol- 
arship may  aid,  but  this  is  fundamental.  Scholarship 
is  vain  that  is  not  in  living  fellowship  by  faith  with 
Christ  does  not  interpret  Scripture  out  of  deep  spirit- 
ual experience.  Luther,  therefore,  approached  the 
Scriptures  with  extraordinary  freedom  of  criticism, 
for  his  test  of  the  worth  of  the  various  books  of  the 
Bible  was  the  clearness  with  which  they  presented  the 
gospel.  He  united  contradictory  positions.  "He  up- 
holds Scripture,  on  the  one  hand,  as  an  external  and 
absolute  authority,  the  very  word  of  God,  the  charter 
and  constitution  of  the  Church ;  on  the  other,  he  exalts 
the  divine  consciousness  in  man  as  that  by  which 
Scripture  is  known  and  judged  to  be  from  God.  The 
Bible  is  divine  because  it  is  the  mirror  in  which  is  re- 
flected the  experience  of  humanity  in  its  highest  ex- 
altation, under  the  influence  of  a  Divine  Spirit.  No 
amount  of  hostile  criticism  could  shake  a  man's  faith 
in  Scripture  whose  reverence  for  it  was  based  on  such 

152 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  153 

a  foundation.  In  this  way  may  be  explained  Luther's 
extraordinary  freedom  in  criticising  the  contents  of 
the  Bible.  A  freedom  and  a  boldness  which  was  a 
source  of  mortification  to  his  successors,  which  they 
endeavored  to  cover  over  and  forget. 

The  following  specimens  of  Luther's  biblical  criti- 
cism, were  their  source  unknown,  would  appear  to 
some  like  the  destructive  attacks  of  modern  higher 
criticism.  In  regard  to  the  Pentateuch,  Luther  thought 
it  a  matter  of  indifference  whether  or  not  it  was  written 
by  Moses.  The  Book  of  Kings  he  spoke  of  as  excel- 
lent— a  hundred  times  better  than  the  Chronicles.  Jere- 
miah as  a  prophet  was  much  inferior  to  Isaiah.  None 
of  the  discourses  of  the  prophets  were  regularly  com- 
mitted to  writing  at  the  time,  but  were  collected  sub- 
sequently by  their  disciples  and  hearers,  and  thus  the 
complete  collection  was  formed.  In  the  Gospel  of  St. 
Luke  the  Saviour's  passion  is  best  described ;  but  the 
Gospel  of  St.  John  is  the  true,  pure  gospel,  the  chief 
of  the  Gospels  because  it  contains  the  greater  part  of 
Christ's  sayings ;  it  is  far  preferable  to  the  other  Gos- 
pels, "The  unique,  tender,  true,  main  Gospel."  Even 
the  Epistles  of  Paul  are  higher  in  authority  than  the 
Gospels  of  Matthew,  Mark  and  Luke,  for  they  deal 
with  faith  in  Christ  and  how  it  justifies,  while  the 
latter  are  mainly  occupied  with  His  w-orks  and  mira- 
cles. In  a  word,  John's  Gospel  with  Paul's  Epistles, 
especially  those  of  the  Romans,  Galatians  and  Ephe- 
sians.  and  also  the  first  Epistles  of  John  and  Peter, 
these  contain  and  teach  all  that  is  necessary  to  know, 
even  if  one  were  never  to  see  the  other  books.  Luther 
did  not  regard  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  nor  that  of 
James,  to  be  of  apostolic  origin,  and  the  latter  he  char- 
acterized as  an  epistle  of  straw%  with  no  trace  of  the 
gospel  in  it.  He  estimated  very  lightly  the  Epistle  of 
Jude.  and  thought  it  was  a  copy  of  the  Second  Epistle 
of  Peter.  He  could  detect  no  trace  in  the  Book  of 
Revelation  of  its  having  been  inspired  by  the  Holy 


154  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

Ghost.  The  causes  which  led  him  to  reject  it  from 
the  canon  were  its  visions,  whose  obscurity  was  in  con- 
trast with  the  clearness  of  genuine  revelation;  many 
of  the  Church  fathers  had  long  ago  rejected  it;  Christ 
is  not  presented  there  as  it  was  the  duty  of  an  apostle 
to  recognize  and  teach  Him.  In  harmony  also  with 
Luther's  attitude  to  the  Scriptures  was  his  estimate 
of  miracles.  They  had,  to  his  mind,  a  very  subordinate 
value  as  evidence  of  Christ's  teaching.  "External 
miracles,"  he  said,  "are  the  apples  and  nuts  which  God 
gave  to  the  childish  world  as  playthings ;  we  no  longer 
have  need  of  them." 

These  startling  expressions  of  Luther  enmphasize 
truths  we  are  likely  to  forget.  First,  that  continually 
the  canon  of  Scripture  must  vindicate  itself  as  God's 
word  to  the  Christian  consciousness  of  believers. 
Second,  that  criticism  has  its  legitimate  place.  As  Dr. 
Jacobs  well  says :  "As  faith  is  an  individual  matter,  and 
cannot  rest  upon  tests  that  have  been  made  by  others, 
as  in  former  ages,  the  critical  process  must  be  re- 
peated in  every  age,  in  order  that  the  result  attained 
may  be  a  sincere  conviction,  without  which  there  can 
be  no  true  faith." 

Third,  he  correctly  teaches  that  there  are  degrees 
of  worth  in  the  Scriptures,  some  books  being  more  val- 
uable than  others,  and  the  spiritual  conceptions  of 
some  much  loftier  than  those  of  others. 

It  seems  to  us,  however,  that  Luther  has  not  laid 
sufficient  stress  upon  the  testimony  of  the  Church, 
which  has  been  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit  through  the 
centuries ;  what  it  has  found  the  word  of  revelation 
gains  thereby  the  cumulative  proof  of  Christian  ex- 
perience, which  dare  not  lightly  be  cast  aside. 

The  doctrine  of  the  word  as  the  means  of  grace 
gives  to  the  Lutheran  Church  a  foundation  for  the 
Scriptures,  against  which  the  waves  of  destructive 
higher  criticism  dash  in  vain.  Luther  felt  this.  Christ 
is  the  center,  but  the  word  the  means  by  which  man 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  155 

comes  to  faith  in  Him  and  is  built  up  in  Him.  Through 
the  word  men  are  brought  into  personal  contact  with 
God,  by  that  word  men  are  called,  illuminated,  re- 
newed in  heart  and  sanctified.  The  witnesses  to  this 
are  the  millions  past  and  present  who  have  been  and 
are  in  living  faith,  who  have  leaned  upon  its  promises 
and  learned  through  its  teachings  the  fullness  of  Christ. 
He  that  has  the  Christian  experience  knows  that  this 
book  is  the  word  of  God,  and  is  not  dismayed  by  at- 
tacks made.  "One  thing  he  knows,  w^hereas  I  was 
blind,  now  I  see."  "The  Scriptures  address  that  in 
man  which  fronts  God." 

The  Word  is  ever  the  basis  of  reform  and  renewal 
of  spiritual  life.  Its  study  made  an  Augustine,  Luther, 
Wesley;  its  preaching  to-day. 

From  this  standpoint  it  can  have  no  sympathy  with 
the  higher  criticism  that  proceeds  from  the  theory 
of  a  naturalistic  evolution  and  will  not  allow  the  guid- 
ance and  instruction  of  the  Lord,  to  whom  there  is  no 
revelation.  It  has  the  witness  in  heart  and  life  that 
there  is  a  personal  God,  Father,  Son  and  Spirit.  He 
does  enter  into  fellowship  with  us  now,  and,  therefore, 
must  have  entered  into  fellowship  with  men  then. 

The  Lutheran  Church  is  probably  less  affected  than 
others  by  destructive  higher  criticism,  for  the  reasons 
given  above.  So  deep  is  its  conviction  that  the  Script- 
ures are  the  word  of  God  that  it  is  content  to  wait 
until  the  scholars  have  fought  out  the  battle. 

Whilst  many  of  the  scholars  in  Germany  are  higher 
critics,  there  are  strong  defenders  of  the  more  mod- 
erate, conservative  views.  Rupprecht,  Zahn  and  others 
may  be  mentioned.  In  our  own  country,  as  yet  but 
little  impression  has  been  made  by  the  higher  criticism 
on  theologians  and  ministers.  Those  who  have  written 
have  all  stood  strenuously  for  the  traditional  view. 
Schodde,  Haas,  Schmauk,  W^eidner,  Jacobs,  the 
authors  of  the  Lutheran  Commentary,  writers  in  our 
Reviews,   our   theological   professors,   have   all   been 


156  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

Stanch  defenders  of  the  integrity  of  Scripture  as  the 
word  of  God. 

That  this  will  continue  without  exceptions  is  not  to 
be  hoped  for.  Some  of  our  younger  men  who  have 
gone  to  New  England  institutions  or  are  diligent 
students  of  New  England  theology  and  writings,  have 
either  partially  or  entirely  given  in  their  adherence 
to  destructive  higher  criticism.  Whenever  any  theory 
is  propounded  that  is  startling  and  revolutionary,  there 
are  always  those  to  whom  the  novelty  appeals,  who 
think  it  a  mark  of  progress  "to  assume  its  truth,  dis- 
cuss its  bearings  and  press  its  consequences."  More- 
over there  are  others  who  are  overwhelmed  by  the  ap- 
parent preponderance  of  scholarship,  and  who  are 
driven  reluctantly  to  conclusions  which  grieve  them 
but  from  which  intellectuually  there  seems  no  escape. 

We  can  be  but  patient,  fall  back  on  the  essential 
truths,  preach  steadily  the  truths  of  revealed  Scriptures 
and  let  the  scholars  continue  their  warfare  until  the 
truth  is  set  forth.  He  that  gave  the  word  will,  in  His 
own  time  and  way,  confound  the  skeptics  and  raise  up 
defenders  and  disclose  the  facts  even  as  He  has  always 
done  in  the  past. 


WHAT  DOES  LUTHERANISM  STAND  FOR? 

Lutheranism  stands  for  the  oldest  form  of  the 
Protestant  Church,  and  for  Luther,  the  greatest  of 
all  the  reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  Augs- 
burg Confession,  the  formal  declaration  of  the  faith 
of  the  Lutheran  Church,  delivered  at  Augsburg,  June 
25,  1530,  is  the  first  great  "creed  statement,"  antedat- 
ing all  those  of  the  other  branches  of  the  Church,  in- 
cluding the  Romish.  This  statement  of  doctrine  af- 
fected all  the  other  evangelical  bodies,  whilst  the  Luth- 
eran liturgies  profoundly  influenced  the  liturgy  of  the 
English  Church.  In  the  Thirty  Years'  W^ar,  which 
ended  1647,  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  Lutheran  princes 
and  peoples,  especially  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  and  the 
Swedes,  saved  Protestantism  from  extinction,  at  least 
on  the  continent  of  Europe.  In  this  country  the  Luth- 
eran has  not  been  so  conspicuous,  but  has,  according 
to  the  teaching  of  His  Church,  ever  been  faithful  and 
loyal  to  the  constituted  authorities,  and  has  ever  stur- 
dily supported  the  cause  of  liberty. 

The  name  Evangelical  Lutheran  indicates,  also,  for 
what  the  denomination  stands.  Evangelical  is  the 
name  selected  by  the  founders,  indicating  that  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  her  glory.  Her  enemies  gave 
to  her  the  name  Lutheran,  which  is  willingly  accepted 
because  Luther  confessed  the  pure  evangelical  doc- 
trine and  faithfully  defended  it.  The  Lutheran  is  not 
founded  on  Luther,  but  on  Christ ;  he  does  not  accept 
all  Luther  said  or  did,  but  follows  him  only  as  he 
rightly  interprets  the  word  of  God,  which  is  to  him  the 
rule  of  faith. 

Doctrinally,  the  Lutheran  subscribes  unreservedly 
to  the  ecumenical  creeds — the  Apostles',  the  Nicene 
and  the  Athanasian.  In  the  Augsburg  Confession  his 
distinctive  doctrines  are  definitely  stated.     This  is  the 

157 


158  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

only  symbol  received  unreservedly  by  all  Lutherans, 
though  in  this  country  the  General  Council,  the  Synod- 
ical  Conference,  the  Ohio  Synod,  and  other  independ- 
ent Synods,  subscribe  also  to  the  remainder  of  what 
is  called  the  Book  of  Concord  as  a  development  and 
defence  of  the  Augsburg  Confession.  The  divisions 
of  the  Lutherans  arise  from  the  laxer  or  stricter  ac- 
ceptance of  this  book.  The  Lutheran  is  distinguished 
by  his  love  for  pure  doctrine  derived  from  God's  word. 
He  believes  that  others  hold  the  saving  faith  in  Christ 
as  well  as  himself,  but  he  also  believes  he  more  nearly 
holds  the  pure  truth  of  God's  word  than  any  other 
body  of  Christians.  He  cannot  be  false  to  this  pure 
doctrine  which  must  be  confessed  in  its  fullness  at  any 
cost.  Otherwise,  he  is  a  traitor  to  the  truth.  All  per- 
manent progress,  he  holds,  must  be  made  on  the  basis 
of  truth  and  sound  teaching. 

Justification  by  faith  is  the  central  principle  of  the 
Lutheran  Church.  It  looks  upon  sin  not  as  a  fault  or 
disease,  but  as  guilt.  Sin  is  inborn  as  well  as  actual, 
and  renders  man  incapable  of  his  own  salvation.  He 
cannot  even  believe  of  himself.  The  Holy  Spirit 
must  regenerate  and  work  faith  in  him.  He  is  not 
passive,  he  can  reject  the  grace  offered  him.  The 
Lutheran  denies  the  Romish  doctrine  that  "a  man's 
own  will  is  able  to  help  in  his  salvation.  And  he  no 
less  denies  Calvin's  doctrine  that  man's  salvation  de- 
pends on  an  arbitrary  act  of  God's  will."  Every  man 
may  be  saved,  for  God  loves  all,  but  his  salvation  is 
conditioned  by  faith.  Naturally  this  deep  sense  of  sin 
leads  to  a  corresponding  sense  of  holiness.  The  Luth- 
eran believes  that  sin  remains  during  this  life  and  that 
he  must  daily  watch  and  pray.  He  does  not  believe  in 
sinless  perfection  in  this  life,  but  progressive  sanctifi- 
cation  into  the  likeness  of  Christ  is  his  object  through 
daily  repentance  and  faith. 

The  Lutheran,  therefore,  teaches  that  man  cannot 
be  justified  before  God  by  his  own  powers,  merits 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  159 

or  works ;  but  is  justified  freely  for  Christ's  sake 
through  faith,  when  he  beheves  that  he  is  received  into 
favor  and  his  sins  forgiven  for  Christ's  sake,  who  by 
His  death  hath  satisfied  for  sin.  He  becomes  righteous 
before  God  through  faith  in  Christ.  BeHeving  in  Him, 
he  has  forgiveness  and  redemption.  Living  by  faith 
with  Him.  there  is  given  unto  the  behever  power  to 
Hve  righteously  before  God  and  through  union  with 
God.  The  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  is  held 
by  the  Lutheran  as  "the  article  of  the  standing  or 
falling  Church,"  for  it  carries  with  it  the  true  meaning 
of  the  incarnation,  redemption  and  resurrection  of 
Christ — the  truth  concerning  the  work  and  person  of 
Christ.  This  doctrine  colors  the  teaching  of  the  Luth- 
eran Church  on  all  other  doctrines. 

The  Lutheran  approaches  God  through  Christ  the 
Son.  He  repudiates  the  Romish  idea  that  access  to  the 
Father  must  be  mediated  through  the  priesthood  of 
the  Church.  Christ  is  the  only  Mediator.  He  rejects, 
also,  the  gloomy  doctrine  of  predestination,  which  re- 
stricts God's  love  to  the  elect.  God  is  to  him  the 
Father  through  the  Son,  not  the  God  of  absolute  de- 
crees. The  Lutheran  is  Christocentric.  He  thus  ap- 
proaches God  with  the  cheerful  confidence  of  a  child. 
He,  justified  by  faith,  is  forgiven  and  accepted.  One 
of  the  characteristics,  therefore,  of  Lutheran  piety 
is  its  cheerfulness  and  hearty  joy.  He  accepts  the 
good  things  of  life  frankly  as  from  the  Father.  Where 
the  Lutheran  is  true,  "he  excels  in  honesty,  kindness, 
affection,  cheerfulness  and  that  GemuthUchkeit,  for 
which  other  nations  have  not  even  a  name."  Exalting 
the  Lord's  day  for  rest  and  worship,  he  does  not  agree 
with  the  Sabbatarianism  of  Puritanism. 

The  appointed  way  by  which  men  are  made  right- 
eous is  through  the  Church,  which  has  entrusted  to  it 
the  word  and  the  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

The  Scriptures,  with  the  Lutheran,  are  the  word  of 


160  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

God.  The  Lutheran  beheves  that  in  them  God  has 
spoken  through  the  inspired  writers  the  sure  and  cer- 
tain facts  of  revelation  for  the  salvation  of  men.  The 
Lutheran  Church  in  this  land  does  not  give  any  counte- 
nance to  the  destructive  higher  criticism.  Everyone 
that  desires  to  hear  God  is  directed  to  His  word. 
Everyone  that  would  fully  obtain  God's  grace  is  di- 
rected to  the  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper,  which  offer  and  bestow  grace.  The  word  of 
God  is  the  chief  means  of  grace,  through  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  calls,  enlightens  and  sanctifies.  The  Luth- 
eran believes  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  in  the  Church 
guiding  it  in  the  development  of  doctrine  and  worship 
and  government.  Whilst  no  doctrine  or  practice  in 
worship  or  government  may  be  retained  which  is  con- 
trary to  God's  word,  such  as  are  not  contrary  to  the 
word  and  are  edifying  may  be  retained. 

He  teaches  that  baptism  is  a  means  of  grace.  It  is 
necessary  to  salvation,  and  "by  baptism  grace  is  of- 
fered." Three  things  are  essential  to  effectual  bap- 
tism— the  words  of  the  institution,  water  and  faith. 
He  demands  faith  in  baptism,  but  does  not  restrict 
baptism  to  adults.  The  mode  is  a  matter  of  indift"er- 
ence;  baptism  may  be  by  immersion,  pouring  or  sprink- 
ling. The  Christian  nurture  of  baptized  children  is  a 
matter  of  great  importance  with  him,  that  the  baptized 
child,  nurtured  by  precept  and  example  in  holy  things, 
may  develop  gradually  into  the  fullness  of  Christian 
faith.  He  lays  great  stress  on  the  instruction  by  the 
pastor  of  the  children  of  the  Church  in  the  catechism, 
that  they  may  understand  their  baptismal  covenant, 
know  the  truth  in  Jesus,  and  accept  with  the  heart 
the  promises  made  in  baptism.  They  are  then  con- 
firmed.   He  insists  on  regeneration  and  conversion. 

In  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  a  means  of 
grace,  the  Lutheran  is  characteristic.  "In  the  Lord's 
Supper  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  truly  present 
under  the  form  of  bread  and  wine,  and  are  there  com- 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  161 

municated  and  received."  This  is  not  the  natural  body 
and  blood,  but  the  glorified  body  and  blood  of  our 
Lord.  He  denies  that  the  bread  and  wine  are  changed 
into  the  veritable  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord,  as  the 
Romanist  teaches.  He  also  denies  that  it  is  mere 
bread  and  wine,  and  the  rite  a  mere  act  of  remem- 
brance, as  many  teach.  "This  is  my  body" ;  the  Luth- 
eran reverently  accepts  and  believes  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  are  truly  present  and  received  in  a 
spiritual  and  sacramental  manner.  He,  approaching 
the  table  of  the  Lord  in  faith,  is  fed  with  heavenly 
bread,  the  Lord  strengthening  him  by  giving  Himself. 

The  Lutheran  holds  that  the  Church  is  the  com- 
munion of  saints,  and  is  found  wherever  God's  word 
is  rightly  taught  and  the  sacraments  administered.  It 
is  not  a  human  society,  a  matter  of  indifference,  but 
divine,  a  necessity  to  every  believer.  The  ministry 
with  him  is  not  a  divine  order  separated  from  their 
fellow-Christians,  but  a  divine  office.  All  believers 
are  priests  before  God.  Ministers  are  men  chosen  of 
God,  endowed  with  peculiar  gifts,  to  preach  the  word 
and  administer  the  sacraments ;  but  they  are  set  apart 
by  the  call  of  the  Church  which  entrusts  to  them 
that  which  belongs  to  all,  to  be  exercised  in  the  name 
and  authority  of  all. 

The  Lutheran  Church  is  flexible  in  polity.  It  does 
not  hold  that  any  special  form  of  government  is  di- 
vinely authorized,  but  the  organization  may  be  adapted 
to  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  time  and  place.  In 
Sweden  it  is  episcopal,  but  deprived  of  hierarchical 
and  unscriptural  claims.  In  other  countries  it  is  pres- 
byterial,  or  congregational.  The  bodies  in  this  coun- 
try are  either  presbyterial  or  congregational,  largely 
the  latter.  The  congregations  are  united  in  Synods, 
and  Synods  into  general  bodies,  but  the  congregation 
is  the  ultimate  source  of  power.  In  worship  the  Luth- 
eran Church  is  liturgical,  though  it  allows  freedom  in 
worship  and  has  many  congregations  which  are  non- 
11 


162  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

liturgical.  The  Lutheran  service  retained  all  of  the 
old  service  of  the  Romish  Church  that  was  in  accord- 
ance with  God's  word  and  edifying.  It  is  both  his- 
torical and  Scriptural.  It  conforms  to  the  church 
year  and  exalts  the  great  festivals.  Of  late  a  common 
service  for  all  its  English-speaking  members  has  been 
adopted,  which,  however,  has  not  met  with  universal 
acceptance.  Even  in  this  a  congregation  is  permitted 
to  use  the  service  in  whole  or  in  part  according  to  its 
judgment.  Free  prayer  is  permitted  in  the  service, 
the  written  prayer  being  set  aside  at  the  pleasure  of 
the  minister. 

A  sprinkling  of  Lutherans  came  over  to  this  coun- 
try with  the  Dutch  colony  which,  in  1623,  settled  New 
York.  These  were  followed  in  1637  by  colonies  from 
Sweden,  who  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware, 
fifty  years  before  the  arrival  of  William  Penn.  Emi- 
grants from  other  countries  of  Europe,  especially  Ger- 
many, continued  to  swell  the  membership.  The  growth, 
however,  was  slow  until  1820,  when  there  were  about 
40,000  members  in  575  congregations,  with  160  minis- 
ters. Since  then  the  growth  has  been  very  rapid  through 
the  large  emigration  from  Europe. 

The  Lutheran  Church  is  exceptionally  strong  in  the 
northwest,  where  in  eight  States  it  largely  outnumbers 
any  other  Protestant  denomination,  and  in  three — 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota  and  North  Dakota — exceeds  the 
combined  membership  of  all  of  them.  Of  the  total 
membership,  about  400,000  are  English,  the  rest  Ger- 
man, Swedish,  Norwegian,  Danish,  Finnish,  Hunga- 
rian and  Icelandic. 

The  Lutheran  Church,  distinguished  for  benevolent 
work,  has  established  in  this  country  92  benevolent 
institutions,  of  which  39  are  orphanages,  and  53  homes 
for  the  aged,  deaconess  institutions,  hospitals,  etc., 
with  32,146  inmates.  It  is  also  actively  engaged  in 
foreign  mission  work,  with  stations  in  India,  Japan 
and  Africa. 


SERMONS  AND  PAPERS  163 

The  Lutheran  Church  is  conservative,  Scriptural  in 
doctrine,  with  the  deptli  of  rehgious  feehng  and  con- 
sciousness so  characteristic  of  the  German  at  his  best. 
It  inherits,  also,  his  tendency,  steadfastness,  thorough- 
ness, profundity  in  thought  and  devotion.  At  least 
7,000,000  of  the  population  of  the  United  States  are 
Lutheran  by  birth,  training  and  choice.  As  the  Church 
is  awakening  to  a  consciousness  of  her  strength  and 
possibilities,  organizing  in  every  direction,  drawing 
closer  together  in  united  effort  through  the  Luther 
League,  the  future  appears  to  hold  increasing  results. 
Under  God,  Lutherans,  with  their  history,  doctrine, 
cultus.  conserv-atism  and  strength,  organized  and 
united,  must,  therefore,  stand  for  a  mighty  force  on 
the  side  of  tried  historic  Christian  life  and  doctrine 
in  the  thought  and  progress  of  true  Christianity  in  our 
beloved  land. 


I 


III 

WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 


I 


J 


HOW  CAN  THE  TEACHER  BECOME  MOST 
PROFICIENT  IN  THE  USE  OF  THE  BIBLE  ? 

To  the  end  of  such  proficiency  the  teacher  must 
know  God  as  his  Father,  Jesus  Christ  as  his  Saviour, 
Master,  Teacher,  Judge  and  Retributor,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  his  Enhghtener,  Quickener,  Sanctifier,  Com- 
forter and  Guide.  We  insist  upon  an  experimental 
knowledge  of  religion — upon  personal  piety  as  a  pri- 
mary, fundamental  requisite. 

He  must  know  himself,  his  capacities,  his  weak- 
nesses, his  privileges,  opportunities  and  possibilities. 

He  must  know  those  whom  he  is  called  to  teach, 
and  know  them  better  than  they  know  themselves. 

He  must  know  the  Book,  and  how  to  use  it.  And 
he  cannot  do  this  without  study,  the  most  careful,  ear- 
nest, diligent  study.  He  should  know  the  Bible  as 
thoroughly  as  is  possible  to  him.  We  do  not  mean 
that  he  should  be  able  to  explain  its  mysteries.  He  is 
not  expected  even  to  understand  them.  They  remain 
there  to  remind  him  that  this  is  God's  book,  to  keep 
him  humble,  and  to  stimulate  his  faith  in  the  super- 
natural. The  less  he  deals  with  them  in  his  teaching 
the  better. 

But  he  does  need  the  firm  conviction  that  this  is  the 
inspired  word  of  God.  He  should  have  no  cherished 
doubts  on  this  subject,  and  should  be  able  to  dispel 
any  which  may  exist  in  the  minds  of  his  scholars. 
His  success,  his  proficiency  in  using  the  word,  depends 
very  much  upon  this,  both  for  himself  and  his  schol- 
ars. What  a  miserable  failure  must  come  from  any 
effort  that  lacks  reverence  for  the  Scriptures,  and  how 
can  we  be  expected  to  revere  them  without  the  assur- 
ance of  their  inspiration?  This  is  absolutely  essential 
to  good  teaching. 

God  save  us  from  the  responsibility  that  rests  upon 

167 


168  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

those  who  have  already  unsettled  the  faith  of  simple 
men  by  their  unwarranted  criticisms  upon  portions 
of  the  Holy  Book.  There  are  disciples  of  these  de- 
structive critics  now  teaching  in  some  of  our  Sunday 
schools  that  Moses  did  not  write  the  Pentateuch,  that 
the  story  of  the  creation  of  Adam  and  Eve,  and  that 
of  the  fall,  and  the  great  deluge  are  fabulous;  that 
Abraham  did  not  offer  Isaac  as  a  sacrifice,  that  the 
fish  did  not  swallow  Jonah,  and  so  on. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  undermine  the  faith  of  men 
in  the  entire  word  of  God,  if  they  can  be  made  to  be- 
lieve that  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are  not 
authentic,  and  that  portions  of  them  are  not  inspired. 
If  Christ  and  Paul,  who  quote  Moses,  and  refer  to  the 
patriarchs  and  prophets  in  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment record,  were  mistaken,  then  what  remains  of  a 
divine  revelation?  Of  course,  no  one  can  become  a 
proficient  teacher  if  he  has  no  more  faith  in  the  in- 
spired word  than  this.    God  will  not  permit  it. 

If  you  believe  in  the  divine  word  with  your  whole 
heart,  that,  as  David  says,  "it  is  forever  settled  in 
heaven,"  and  that  it  ought  to  be  settled  on  earth, 
then,  to  become  proficient  in  its  use,  you  must  study 
it — study  the  whole  of  it — study  it  carefully,  prayer- 
fully, systematically,  practically,  faithfully.  You 
should  study  it  as  a  scholar,  as  a  Christian,  and  con- 
stantly. You  can  never  know  too  much  about  it.  You 
can  never  exhaust  this  mine  of  truth,  this  treasury  of 
wisdom  and  grace.  It  should  be  our  aim,  as  much  as 
possible,  to  make  it  the  possession  of  our  memory,  so 
that  we  can  readily  command  any  essential  portion  of 
it  in  our  teaching.  We  should  remember  that  the  Bible 
is  largely  its  own  interpreter.  The  best  commentary 
on  the  Bible  is  the  word  itself.  Study  the  analogies  of 
faith.  Take  any  subject  which  it  presents,  and  by  the 
use  of  a  concordance  find  the  teaching  of  the  Script- 
ures with  regard  to  it,  and  you  will  be  amazed  at  the 
discovery  of  the  beautiful  analysis  of  truth  which  can 


i 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  169 

be  made,  at  the  light  which  shall  dawn  upon  your  mind 
and  heart,  at  the  arrows  which  shall  fill  your  quiver, 
at  the  food  which  shall  replenish  your  storehouse,  at 
the  precious  gems  which  shall  enrich  your  treasury. 

Study  the  Book  whenever  you  have  the  opportunity ; 
make  it  the  ''man  of  your  counsel,"  the  guide  of  your 
life.  Store  up  your  knowledge,  but  apply  it  as  well; 
apply  it  as  you  go.  As  God  commanded  the  prophet, 
''Eat  this  roll,"  make  it  a  part  of  yourself.  If  you  have 
ever  been  regenerated,  it  was  by  its  incorruptible  seed ; 
if  you  will  ever  be  sanctified,  it  will  be  by  the  Spirit- 
sealed  truth ;  if  you  ever  become  a  proficient  teacher, 
it  will  be  through  its  light  which  is  in  you,  and  be- 
cause your  teaching  will  be  a  transmission  of  that  light 
to  the  souls  of  others.  "No  man  owns  deeper  than 
he  plows,"  and  no  man  teaches  better  than  he  knows 
and  is  himself.  If  a  man  is  experimentally  a  stranger 
to  the  truth,  if  he  does  not  live  it  in  his  daily  life,  there 
are  portions  of  the  Scriptures  which  he  will  not  dare 
to  expound  to  his  scholars,  unless  he  has  the  hardi- 
hood of  a  hypocrite  and  a  perverter  of  the  truth. 

Study  the  Bible  by  the  use  of  all  the  helps  at  your 
command.  Despise  not  the  learning  and  experience  of 
others,  but  never  fail  to  study  with  prayer  for  the  aid 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Rely  upon  His  enlightening  and 
discerning  power,  more  than  upon  commentaries  or 
any  other  human  aid. 

Thus,  by  general  reading  and  study  of  the  word, 
and  such  works  as  will  aid  in  its  exposition,  the  teacher 
may  become  thoroughly  furnished  for  his  work. 

But  especial  attention  should  be  given  to  the  ap- 
pointed lesson  for  each  Sabbath.  As  another  has  sug- 
gested in  part,  it  should  be  carefully  read  the  previous 
Sabbath.  The  context  and  parables,  and  what  in  our 
lesson  books  are  termed  daily  readings,  should  be 
used  in  daily  devotions.  If  it  is  possible,  examine  the 
text  in  the  original.  As  time  permits,  gather  all  the 
information  available  which  bears  on  any  feature  of 


170  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

it.  Analyze  it.  Try  to  ascertain  what  is  the  mind  of 
the  Spirit  in  each  portion  of  it.  Put  it  into  logical 
shape  for  presentation  to  the  class.  Think  over  it  at 
your  daily  work.  Talk  over  it  with  other  teachers 
whom  you  may  meet.  If  there  is  a  teachers'  meeting 
in  your  school  for  the  study  of  the  lesson,  be  sure  to  be 
present  and  improve  it  to  the  best  advantage,  atten- 
tively and  co-operatively.  Be  on  the  constant  look- 
out for  illustrations  familiar  to  your  scholars,  giving 
preference  to  those  which  you  may  find  in  the  Script- 
ures. If  you  have  a  marked  Bible,  it  will  serve  you 
well.  Have  a  note-book  in  your  pocket  and  jot  down 
thoughts  that  come  to  you  by  the  way.  Before  going 
to  your  class  review  and  arrange  your  preparation. 
Pray  for  the  divine  blessing  on  your  work  beforehand, 
and  in  spirit  while  you  are  teaching.  Then  utilize  your 
time  by  dwelling  on  the  most  important  truths  con- 
tained in  the  lesson,  and  by  making  such  an  application 
of  them  as  the  needs  of  your  scholars  may  require. 
When  the  lesson  is  ended  review  your  work  and  see 
how  you  can  improve  it.  And  it  may  be  well  to  learn 
from  the  parents  and  friends  of  your  scholars  the  re- 
sults of  your  efforts,  and  also  to  seek  suggestions  by 
which  you  may  become  more  proficient  and  successful 
with  those  under  your  care. 

Now  this  may  appear  to  you  like  hard  work,  an 
exacting  service,  laying  contributions  upon  your  time, 
talents  and  energy,  upon  recreations  and  pleasures  of 
other  sort,  and  even  upon  your  business.  Just  so; 
but  it  is  the  only  way  in  which  to  become  a  most  pro- 
ficient teacher.  Close  application — diligent  attention 
is  of  more  account  than  special  gifts,  and  ^'^ou  can  no 
more  succeed  without  it  in  this  work  than  in  your 
business  or  any  engagement  in  life. 

If  you  are  not  willing  to  do  hard  work  and  make 
this  the  "one  thing  needful,"  you  may  as  well  give  it 
up.  If  you  would  succeed,  your  whole  heart  must  be 
in  it.    And  with  this  spirit  and  the  grace  of  God.  any- 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  171 

one  of  ordinary  intelligence  may  become  a  proficient 
teacher. 

Let  me  give  you  Dr.  Talbot  Chambers's  views  on 
this  subject.  He  says:  "What  is  sought  by  a  true 
teacher  is,  not  simply  to  pass  the  time,  or  to  entertain 
his  class,  or  even  to  make  an  impression  on  the 
feelings  by  a  moving  story,  but  it  is  to  lodge  truth  in 
the  scholars'  minds,  that  is,  to  give  them  a  precise, 
clear,  definite  comprehension  of  God's  will.  Now,  this 
is  not  easy.  It  requires  that  the  teacher  first  know 
the  truth  himself ;  then,  that  he  find  out  the  best  way 
of  stating  it ;  that  he  furnish  the  explanation  of  illus- 
trations required,  and  that  by  questioning  he  discover 
whether  he  has  been  pouring  water  into  a  sieve  or 
into  a  bucket.  He  has  also  to  exercise  a  wise  dis- 
crimination as  to  what  portion  of  a  given  lesson  he 
can  afford  to  dwell  upon. 

"Sometimes  there  are  questions  of  archaeology,  his- 
tory, geography,  manners  and  customs  which  he  must 
touch  upon,  but  never  to  the  overlooking  of  more  im- 
portant things.  For  example,  it  is  well  to  know  some- 
thing of  the  disputed  question,  whether  Christ  was 
transfigured  on  Mount  Tabor  or  on  a  spur  of  Hermon, 
but  what  folly  can  be  greater  than  to  spend  most  of 
the  hour  on  such  a  point  ?  The  two  great  things  before 
the  teacher,  when  preparing  to  meet  a  class  in  Script- 
ure study,  are:  (i)  What  does  this  passage  of  the 
word  MEAN?  And  then  (2)  What  does  it  teach? 
These  questions  embrace  all  that  need  occupy  the  at- 
tention of  the  thoughtful  student.  To  answer  them 
satisfactorily  involves  investigation  and  reflection,  as 
well  as  devout  and  earnest  prayer.  To  get  the  full 
sense  of  a  passage  and  to  feel  reasonably  sure  of  it, 
and  then  to  ascertain  exactly  what  it  teaches,  either 
expressly  or  by  fair  implication ;  to  rise  from  the  par- 
ticular to  the  general,  to  deduce  from  each  statement 
its  various  applications,  is  no  child's  play. 

"Still  less  is  it  an  easy  matter  to  select  from  various 


172  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S,  ALBERT 

contributions  what  is  really  pertinent,  certainly  true, 
and  justly  prominent,  and  then  to  state  this  so  clearly, 
so  simply,  so  naturally,  so  earnestly,  that  the  class  can 
hardly  fail  to  take  it  in.  The  teacher's  aim  should  be 
the  conversion  of  his  pupils,  and  the  only  conversion 
that  is  worth  having  is  that  which  comes  from  the 
incorruptible  seed  of  the  word  of  God.  Often,  how- 
ever, scholars  are  already  in  full  communion  with  the 
church.  In  this  case  the  object  sought  is  to  render 
them  more  intelligent,  steadfast  and  consistent  in  their 
Christian  life,  and  more  useful  in  such  methods  as 
are  open  to  them.  And  for  both  these  ends  they  need 
to  have  their  minds  richly  stored  with  divine  truth. 
This  is  the  nutriment  of  their  growth,  the  measure  of 
their  progress." 

I  repeat  it,  this  may  be  considered  hard  work,  but 
there  is  no  other  way  to  proficiency  in  teaching.  There 
are  plans  and  methods  without  number,  but  all  that  are 
worthy  of  consideration  can  be  reduced  to  the  simple 
one  of  finding  the  meaning  and  teaching  of  the  lesson, 
and  none  of  them  can  be  made  efifective  without  hard 
work. 

Teaching  is  an  art,  and  must  be  learned.  There  may 
be  natural  gifts  which  will  facilitate  the  work,  but, 
after  all,  it  is  the  diligent  student,  both  of  the  word 
and  its  exposition  and  application,  who  will  be  success- 
ful. Yes,  it  is  an  art,  and  if  you  would  become  a  pro- 
ficient artisan,  you  must  know  how  to  use  your  tools. 

You  have,  doubtless,  seen  combination  instruments, 
composed  of  various  implements;  perhaps  you  have 
tried  to  use  them.  At  first  it  may  have  been  awkward 
business,  but  by  and  by  you  obtained  skill  and  praised 
their  utility  and  convenience.  Or,  perhaps,  you  have 
seen  artisans  accomplish  real  feats  of  various  work- 
manship with  a  single,  simple  instrument.  That  pro- 
ficiency was  not  spontaneous.  It  did  not  come  in  a 
day.  It  was  the  result  of  study,  instruction  and 
patient,  persevering  practice. 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  173 

Now  you  may  take  either  illustration  for  your  use 
of  the  word  of  God.  It  is  a  multi-tooled  instrument. 
A  lamp,  a  sword,  a  hammer,  a  mirror,  and  many  other 
things,  but  it  is  one,  single  and  simple.  But  we  must 
know  Iwzv  and  zvhen  to  use  it,  if  we  would  accomplish 
the  purpose  for  which  it  has  been  provided.  It  is  a 
seed  and  a  graft  for  the  husbandman,  milk  for  the 
nurse,  bread  and  meat  for  the  householder,  medicine 
for  the  physician,  lazv  for  the  counselor,  text-book, 
digest,  thesaurus,  everything  to  the  teacher.  He  will 
find  it  adapted  to  every  peculiarity  of  human  nature, 
to  every  want  of  the  soul.  What  he  needs  is  to  know 
it  thoroughly  in  all  these  adaptations,  and  then  to  pos- 
sess the  skill  to  use  it  properly. 

And  as  for  this  last,  can  I  say  more  than  that,  if 
we  would  become  proficient,  we  must  sit  at  the  feet 
of  the  Great  Master.  Follow  Him  in  His  ministry 
as  the  Prophet  of  His  Church,  the  Teacher  sent  from 
God.  True,  indeed,  we  cannot  teach  as  He  taught, 
for  He  "spake  as  never  man  spake."  And  yet,  to  some 
extent.  He  is  imitable,  and  came  to  be  our  model.  He 
will  show  us  how  to  use  the  great  implement,  how  to 
make  truth  plain,  easy  to  be  understood,  attractive,  in- 
teresting and  profitable;  how  to  be  gentle  and  patient 
and  wise ;  how  to  teach  with  authority  and  with  power. 
Oh,  how  much  depends  upon  our  careful  and  faithful 
study  of  His  example  as  a  teacher!  And  what 
stronger  motive  could  we  give  for  it  than  that  it  is 
His  own  word  that  we  teach.  His  own  w^ork  that  we 
are  doing,  and  that  He  knows  best  hozv  it  ought  to 
be  done.  Let  us  fellowship  with  Him,  and  He  will 
make  of  us  workmen  that  need  not  be  ashamed,  rightly 
dividing,  teaching  and  applying  the  word  of  truth. 
Leaning  unto  our  own  understanding,  our  best  eflForts 
will  result  in  failure,  but  if,  at  His  command,  we 
launch  out  into  the  deep,  and  cast  our  net  on  the  right 
side  of  the  ship,  we  shall  become  successful  fishers  of 
men. 


THE  DISCOURAGED  TEACHER;  OR,  SOWING 
AND  HARVESTING 

A  discouraged  teacher  was  talking  the  other  day 
to  one  in  whose  counsel  she  had  great  confidence. 
She  was  discouraged  because  the  girls  whom  she 
taught  were  apparently  so  indifferent  and  unrespon- 
sive; indeed,  at  times  she  could  not  secure  their  atten- 
tion, as  they  would  talk  about  their  own  concerns  in 
the  midst  of  the  lesson.  When  reproved,  they  were 
either  sullen  or  defiant.    Her  labors  appeared  wasted. 

Her  counselor,  who  had  seen  more  of  life,  replied 
that  in  such  work  patience  was  needed,  results  did  not 
immediately  follow  teaching,  seed  sowing  and  harvest- 
ing were  often  far  apart,  that  she  was  probably  doing 
much  more  good  than  she  supposed,  that,  in  due 
season,  the  promise  was  that  she  should  reap  if  she 
fainted  not. 

He  does  not  know  whether  his  counsels  were  of  any 
avail,  he  does  know  she  is  sticking  at  it  faithfully.  He 
cannot  tell  how  much  good  she  will  do  to  these  schol- 
ars, whose  surroundings  are  distinctly  unfavorable  to 
Christian  life  and  progress;  he  is  sure  that  this  work 
loyally  done  for  Christ's  sake  is  of  untold  benefit  to  her 
Christian  life  and  character,  for  the  easy  places  fail 
to  give  Christian  backbone  and  virility,  whilst  the  hard 
places  bring  out  strength  and  power  of  life. 

Is  there  not  too  often  a  lack  of  patience  about  much 
of  our  Christian  endeavor  ?  Seed  sowing  and  harvest- 
ing do  not  tread  on  each  other's  heels.  There  is  first  the 
seed,  then  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full  golden 
grains  in  the  ear.  Autumn,  winter,  spring,  summer 
come  and  go  before  the  harvesting  is  possible  in  many 
a  field.  Singular,  too,  how  differently  we  look  at  this 
matter  when  we  consider  our  own  souls  and  those  of 
others.     In  our  own  life  we  claim  that  others  should 

174 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  175 

be  patient  with  us.  "Give  us  time,"  we  cry,  "and  I 
will  overcome  these  faults,  and  bring  these  Christian 
graces  to  perfection."  Indeed,  we  thus  encourage  our 
own  spirits  when  we  note  slow  advance.  Patience  and 
faithfulness,  we  reflect,  are  bound  to  give  us  the  noble, 
beautiful  and  great  things  we  strive  for.  The  Master 
adds  His  voice :  "Those  that  bring  forth  thirty,  sixty, 
an  hundredfold  are  they  that,  having  heard  the  word, 
keep  it  and  bring  forth   fruit  with  patience." 

If,  therefore,  we  ask  that  time  be  given  us,  should 
we  not  also  be  patient  with  others?  Results  may  not 
come  to-day,  but  in  the  future  they  will  be  seen.  Per- 
haps we  may  be  in  our  graves,  our  very  sowing  for- 
gotten— God.  however,  remembers — when  the  blade, 
the  ear,  the  ripened  grain  appear. 

There  are  many  considerations  that  might  aid  us  in 
this  work  which  tries  our  patience.  Some  of  these  we 
give  with  the  hope  that  they  may  inspire. 

First.  It  is  good  always  to  remember  that  God  has 
asked  us  to  do  this  work.  He  asks  that  His  word  be 
sown  in  the  hearts  of  His  children  who  know  Him 
not,  or  do  not  know  Him  as  they  should.  We  have 
answered  His  call.  When  He  puts  anyone  into  a 
service  He  also  will  give  grace  to  that  one  to  do  that 
service.  There  never  has  been  one  who  faithfully 
and  honestly  attended  to  his  Christian  service  that 
God  forgot,  whom  He  did  not  bless,  whose  work  He 
did  not  make  fruitful.  God  sends  us,  and  we  are  co- 
laborers  with  Him ;  with  such  a  co-worker  harvest 
will  surely  be  glorious.  Even  if  there  were  no  harvest, 
to  the  devoted  Christian  it  is  unspeakable  joy  that  we 
are  obeying  His  commands  and  pleasing  Him. 

Second.  It  is  good  to  recall  that  we  are  not  the  only 
sowers.  There  are  other  teachers  at  work  with  the 
soul.  God  Himself  is  at  work,  and  in  His  every-day 
dealings  is  teaching  it.  By  sorrow  and  joy,  pleasure 
and  pain,  by  His  daily  providences,  by  unknown  mes- 
sengers, by  books  and  society,  by  other  Christian  work- 


176  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

ers,  by  prayers  of  intercession  from  mothers,  fathers, 
friends,  God  pours  upon  that  soul  His  instruction. 
Singular  it  is  to  observe  how  manifest  this  is  in  the 
most  unexpected  places.  "When  Paul  climbs  Mars' 
Hill  he  catches  the  echoes  of  'certain  poets,'  who 
already  have  been  singing  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God." 
There  are  other  human  sowers  whom  He  sends  as  well 
as  ourselves.  Perhaps  the  seed  we  bring  is  not  always 
good  seed,  but  others  are  helping.  Let  us  be  glad  that 
we  are  not  alone  in  this  sowing. 

Third.  It  is  helpful  to  think  that  the  vitality  of  the 
seed,  God's  word,  is  marvelous.  It  is  marvelous  to 
observe  how  long  a  seed  will  retain  its  vitality.  Years 
may  pass,  but  when  the  seed  is  given  the  conditions  of 
growth,  that  which  appeared  dead  germinates,  grows 
and  brings  forth  fruit.  Sometimes  men  who  have 
lived  very  wicked  lives  are  suddenly  converted.  In 
almost  every  instance  in  their  youth  someone,  a  pray- 
ing father  or  mother,  a  faithful  teacher,  pastor,  or 
friend,  dropped  God's  truth  into  their  hearts.  It  laid 
there  for  years,  retaining  its  vitality,  and  then  the 
favoxable  conditions  came,  and  it  genninated  and  took 
possession  at  last  of  the  heart. 

Fourth.  It  is  inspiring  to  think  of  the  work  we  are 
doing.  "He  who  helps  a  child  helps  humanity  with  an 
immediateness  which  no  other  help  given  to  human 
creatures  in  any  other  stage  of  their  human  life  can 
possibly  give  again.  He  who  puts  his  blessed  influence 
into  a  river  blesses  the  land  to  which  that  river  is  to 
flow;  but  he  who  puts  his  influence  into  the  fountain 
where  the  river  comes  out  puts  his  influence  every- 
where. No  land  it  may  not  reach ;  no  ocean  it  may 
not  make  sweeter ;  no  bark  it  may  not  bear ;  no  wheel  it 
may  not  turn.  Sometimes  we  get  at  things  best  by 
their  contraries.  Learn,  my  friends,  the  rich  beauty 
of  helping  a  child  by  the  awfulness  of  hurting  a  child. 
The  thing  men  have  always  shuddered  at  most,  the 
thing  men  have  seemed  to  recognize  as  marking  the 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  177 

deepest  and  most  essential  meanness  of  human  nature, 
is  hurting  a  child ;  hurting  a  child  even  in  his  physical 
frame,  so  that  he  weeps,  shrieks  and  cries;  hurting 
him  still  more  in  soul  and  mind.  The  thing  that  made 
the  Divine  Master  indignant  was  that  He  dreamed  of 
seeing  before  Him  a  man  who  had  harmed  some  of 
these  little  ones,  and  He  said  of  any  such  a  ruffian, 
'It  were  better  for  him  that  he  had  never  been  born.' 
If  it  is  such  an  awful  thing  to  hurt  a  child's  life,  to  aid 
a  child's  life  is  beautiful." 

Once  again,  it  is  wise  to  remember  that  it  is  ours 
to  plant  and  water,  but  it  is  God's  to  give  the  increase. 
A  discouraged  pastor  recalls  the  kindly  rebuke  of  his 
good  wife,  when  he  complained  that  his  work  seemed 
to  be  so  fruitless.  "You  preach  that  all  God  asks  is 
that  we  should  be  careful  to  do  our  work  faithfully, 
and  that  we  are  not  to  be  so  much  concerned  about  the 
results,  for  He  giveth  the  increase.  Would  it  not  be 
well  to  apply  your  preaching  to  yourself  ?"  This  word 
in  season  is  one  that  the  Christian  worker  needs  to 
carry  with  him  always.  It  will  give  him  strength  to 
wait  and  patiently  strive. 

We  might  add  that  there  are  some  things  to  do  be- 
sides faithful  and  persistent  labor  for  our  scholars.  We 
should  trust  God.  The  teacher  should  realize  that, 
though  his  gifts  are  not  great  and  his  speech  stammer- 
ing, God  can  use  him  if  he  in  humble  trust  permits  God 
to  speak  through  him.  "When  Ole  Bull  came  across 
the  sea  at  one  time,  no  one  on  shipboard  knew  of  his 
identity.  He  stood  one  evening  listening  to  the  orches- 
tra, and  said  to  the  leader  of  the  music  that  if  the 
movement  in  a  certain  place  should  be  accelerated  the 
beauty  of  the  composition  would  be  more  clearly 
brought  out.  The  leader  was  highly  indignant,  and 
resented  any  interference.  The  next  night  Ole  Bull 
stood  in  the  presence  of  the  musicians  with  a  little  old 
three-dollar  violin  he  had  secured  from  the  steerage, 
and  asked  permission  to  play  the  part  which  he  had 

12 


178  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

criticised.  Permission  was  given,  because  the  leader 
thought  it  was  a  rare  opportunity  for  sport ;  but  when 
Ole  Bull  began  to  play  every  other  musician  stopped, 
and  he  played  on  until  the  whole  room  was  filled  with 
the  melody  and  everybody  fascinated.  One  can  easily 
see  that  the  power  was  not  at  all  in  the  violin,  but  in 
the  master  back  of  it."  Our  power  is  not  in  self,  but 
in  God. 

Close  to  this  is  living  near  to  Christ  until  He  is 
precious  to  us.  When  He  is  precious,  we  will  seek  to 
make  Him  precious  to  others.  Tholuck,  the  great 
German  theologian,  influenced  in  an  unbelieving  age 
hundreds  of  men  to  faith  in  Christ.  The  secret  of  his 
power  is  in  these  words  of  his :  "I  have  but  one  pas- 
sion, and  that  is  for  Christ." 

Naturally  from  love  to  Christ  there  flows  love  to 
others.  We  come  to  look  at  others  as  Christ  looked 
at  them.  He  loved  them,  for  He  saw  in  the  worst  the 
possible  saint,  the  soul  that  could  trust  God,  fight  sin, 
seek  righteousness,  and  live  a  life  of  goodness  and 
greatness.  We,  too,  can  love  when  we  look  at  others 
with  Christ's  eyes.  It  is  love  that  gives  patience  and 
power.  When  teaching  is  without  love  the  heart  re- 
mains hard,  and  the  seed  falls  by  the  wayside.  When 
teaching  is  with  love,  it  enters  the  heart,  because  love 
breaks  up  the  hard  heart  and  prepares  it  to  receive  the 
seed  sown.  Scholars  speedily  detect  when  they  are 
not  loved,  and  resent  perfunctory  teaching,  and  just  as 
quickly  respond  to  love. 

He  that  will  live  with  Christ  will  make  his  own  life 
holy  and  beautiful  as  well.  It  will  become  a  living 
word  of  God.  Its  unconscious  influence  will  con- 
stantly tell,  and  the  influence  that  is  most  mighty  is 
unconscious  influence.  It  will  proclaim  Christ,  and 
will,  as  a  seed,  be  taken  into  the  heart.  Years  may 
pass,  but  the  seed  will  remain,  and  at  last  the  harvest 
will  come  to  the  salvation  of  the  loved,  to  your  honor 
and  to  the  praise  of  God. 


IMMEDIATE  AND  LASTING  RESULTS 

Results  are  desired  by  all  workers,  for,  unless  works 
issue  in  results,  the  life  goes  out  of  the  worker. 
He  may  toil,  but  he  toils  as  the  ox,  driven  by  the  sharp 
goad  or  lash.  All  look  for  completion  as  the  outcome 
of  labor.  Money  is  not  sufficient  to  give  zest  to  work. 
Laborers  paid  well  would  grow  tired  of  carrying  a  pile 
of  bricks  back  and  forth  from  one  side  of  the  street 
to  the  other.  They  would  rebel  and  seek  occupation 
that  would  come  to  some  result. 

Results  may  be  immediate  and  superficial,  or  they 
may  reveal  themselves  in  the  future  and  be  permanent. 
It  is  true  that  some  results  may  both  be  immediate  and 
permanent ;  but  the  law  is  that  lasting  results  are  the 
fruition  of  long-continued  striving.  The  mushroom 
springs  up  in  a  night  and  is  crushed  by  the  passing 
foot.  The  oak  takes  the  years  for  its  growth,  but  then, 
with  giant  strength,  resists  the  storms  and  calls  the 
centuries  its  own. 

The  average  man,  short-sighted,  demands  immediate 
result.  He  is  impatient  over  foundation  work.  He 
must  see  something  that  will  prove  to  himself  and 
others  the  value  of  his  labor  or  expenditure.  The 
true  music  teacher  knows  that  the  long  and  laborious 
practice  of  exercises  will  alone  make  the  fingers  strong 
and  supple,  the  voice  responsive  to  the  shadings  of 
melody  and  subject  to  absolute  control.  The  pupil  and 
the  parents  are  dissatisfied  because  there  are  no  im- 
mediate results  and  demand  the  set  piece  of  the  song. 
The  exercises  are  often  cast  to  the  side  and  the  lasting 
results  never  attained.  Years  afterward,  when  too 
late,  they  lament  the  lack  of  foundation  work;  or,  if 
the  teacher  had  grit  and  forced  the  exercises,  thank 
him  for  the  insistence  of  foundation  work  that  made 

179 


180  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

them,  after  long  years,  artists,  a  joy  to  themselves  and 
a  delight  to  others. 

Religious  instructors  are  peculiarly  liable  to  seek 
for  immediate  results,  and  slow  to  lay  foundations 
upon  which  in  the  future  great  characters  may  be  built. 
Much  of  our  present  Sunday  school  work  is  of  this 
character.  The  aim  is  rather  to  stir  the  emotions  and 
secure  present  expression  of  faith  in  Christ,  or  present 
protestations  of  devotion  and  consecration,  rather  than 
slowly  to  strengthen  the  will,  instruct  the  conscience 
and  teach  the  mind  the  deeper  things  of  our  religion. 
The  outcome  is  that,  for  the  most  part,  we  have  a 
showy,  superficial  piety,  but  not  the  solid,  enduring, 
rock-ribbed  and  deeply-learned  piety  that  knows  what 
it  believes  and  whom  it  believes. 

Such  instruction  is  unlike  the  example  given  us  in 
the  Scriptures.  Moses,  learned  in  the  wisdom  of 
Egypt,  at  the  age  of  forty  is  sent  to  the  desert  for  forty 
years  more  to  learn  by  long  meditation  in  quiet  soli- 
tudes the  truths  that  shall  fit  him  to  lead  Israel  out 
of  Egypt  and  to  give  them  the  laws  and  precepts  of 
God.  Paul,  by  devout  study  of  the  law,  by  faithful 
observance  of  its  demands,  is  prepared  for  his  conver- 
sion. Even  after  conversion  he  must  abide  three  years 
in  Arabia  before  he  may  preach,  the  years  of  prepara- 
tion more  than  doubling  his  capacity  for  labor.  Even 
Jesus  must  needs  wait  thirty  years  ere  His  hour  comes. 
His  whole  ministry  is  little  concerned  with  immediate 
results,  but  devoted  to  preparatory  work,  over  which 
He  patiently  toils,  until.  His  disciples  being  prepared 
and  furnished  to  carry  on  His  work.  He  may  go  to 
Calvary  and  win  our  redemption. 

The  word  of  God  is  the  means  of  grace.  The 
knowledge  thereof  is  absolutely  necessary  to  a  strong 
Christian  character.  Whilst  we  should  seek  decision 
for  Christ,  we  should  also  be  far-seeing  and  strive 
to  make  the  scholar  wise  concerning  the  Scriptures  and 
familiar  with  their  deep  truths.  Modern  teaching  seems 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  181 

to  lay  undvie  emphasis  on  the  part  of  the  command, 
"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart," 
and  to  largely  overlook  another  part,  "with  all  thy 
mind."  It  is,  indeed,  necessary  to  love  God  with  the 
heart,  with  tender  affection  and  true  emotion ;  but  none 
the  less,  with  the  vigor  of  the  mind  and  the  energy  of 
purified  thought.  The  noblest  love  of  the  heart  must 
be  built  on  the  knowledge  the  mind  has  of  Christ.  A 
heart  not  directed  by  the  mind  becomes  either  shallow 
or  fanatical.  Paul,  the  apostle  of  faith,  the  man  of  ten- 
der heart,  who  wrote  the  noblest  description  of  love, 
was  a  man  who  loved  God  with  his  mind  and  sought 
reverently  to  clearly  understand  the  greatest  truths 
of  the  religion  of  Christ.  Coleridge  was  wont  to  say 
that  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  the  finest  piece  of 
reasoning  in  the  broad  domain  of  literature.  Paul 
never  found  the  exercise  of  his  mind  to  destroy  his 
faith  or  weaken  his  love.  It  but  made  faith  mighty 
and  deepened  his  love,  because  it  helped  him  to  under- 
stand what  God  had  done  for  him  in  Christ. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  by  a  thoughtful  writer,  to 
whom  we  owe  much  of  what  follows,  that  we  need 
to-day  especially  "good,  clear,  honest,  individual  think- 
ing." W'^e  do  not  think  ourselves  down  into  the  real 
meaning  of  words,  but  are  content  with  a  superficial 
vagueness.  "Take,  for  instance,  words  like  life,  death, 
sin,  holiness,  faith,  belief,  love,  justification,  salva- 
tion— all  of  which  are  vital  terms  in  the  Christian  re- 
ligion— how  few  of  even  professing  Christians  have 
any  clear,  forceful,  transferable  conception  of  their 
meaning!"  They  never  honestly  and  energetically  ex- 
ercise their  minds  upon  these  words  and  search  the 
Scriptures  for  their  teaching  concerning  these  living 
truths. 

All  these  truths  should  be  studied,  but  with  a  loivly, 
reverent  mind.  Conceit  is  fatal.  They  are  not  to  be 
learned  by  our  own  wisdom,  but  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord.     We,  indeed,  should  make  everv  effort,  but  let 


182  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

US  understand  that  He  must  give  the  truth  in  its  inner 
preciousness. 

The  great  trouble  with  much  study  of  to-day  is  that 
it  has  the  spirit  of  the  age.  The  age  is  trivial  and 
worldly.  It  wants  to  put  cheap  and  easy  explanations 
upon  everything.  It  thinks  that  it  settles  everything 
when  it  says,  "I  cannot  understand  it."  It  has  no  sense 
of  mystery;  though  mystery  is  all  about  us,  and  must 
be  so  long  as  we  are  finite  and  God  infinite.  God 
beckons  us  onward  by  mystery.  The  age  is  trivial  be- 
cause, rejecting  mystery,  it  has  no  strong,  consistent 
purpose,  no  earnest  eflfort  to  penetrate  into  God's 
wonders.  Satisfied  with  what  it  can  explain,  it  is,  of 
course,  worldly,  and  knows  nothing  of  heaven,  the 
mysterious.  The  true  student,  lowly  and  reverent, 
seeking  to  know  God  and  His  great  truths,  has  a  pur- 
pose that  makes  the  mind  strong  and  great. 

We  should  have  an  open  mind,  a  mind  always  ex- 
pectant, "whose  hospitable  doors  are  ajar  for  any  angel 
presence  who  may  present  himself  for  entertainment." 
We  should  have  a  "mind  set  on  things  above.''  Lofti- 
ness of  mind  will  be  the  result.  Our  world  of  thought 
will  have  a  sky.  We  shall  be  lifted  out  of  the  mire  of 
the  commonplace  and  our  feet  tread  the  Delectable 
Mountains. 

Therefore,  let  us  be  wise  and  far-sighted,  and  in 
teaching  seek  not  only  immediate  results,  but  lay 
foundations,  on  which,  in  the  future,  the  lasting  re- 
sults of  a  strong  Christian  character  shall  appear. 
Teach  patiently  the  Scriptures ;  try  to  bring  to  scholars 
clear  conceptions  of  its  great  truths  and  words.  Go 
over  them  often  and  patiently,  and  years  afterward 
your  scholars  will  be  known  by  their  strong,  clear  and 
vigorous  conceptions  of  truth,  and  noble,  devoted  and 
influential  characters. 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

We  have  observed  lately  in  many  journals  sharp 
depreciation  of  Sunday  schools,  and  especially  of  Sun- 
day school  teachers.  The  ungracious  part  of  this  is 
that  many  of  these  criticisms  are  written  by  men  who 
are  not  Sunday  school  teachers  themselves.  It  is 
always  easy  to  find  fault  with  work  that  one  is  not  do- 
ing one's  self. 

Are  there  not  some  things  we  forget? 

First,  do  we  not  forget  that  the  despised  Sunday 
school  brings  more  young  people  into  the  church  than 
any  other  agency  the  church  has  ?  It  works  with  Chris- 
tian families,  supplementing  home  training  and  aiding 
their  children  to  reach  decision  for  Christ.  Out  of  the 
Sunday  school  come  many  of  the  members  of  the 
pastor's  catechetical  class,  the  teachers  bringing  to  bear 
the  weight  of  their  influence  and  the  solicitations  of 
love  upon  their  scholars  to  induce  them  to  attend. 
These,  having  little  or  no  encouragement  at  home, 
would  not  be  reached  at  all  save  for  them.  Pastors 
claim  that  often  they  find  the  Sunday  school  scholars 
ignorant  of  the  Bible,  those  scholars  that  come  to  their 
catechetical  classes  from  the  Sunday  school.  Have  they 
ever  realized  fully  that  which  is  greater,  that  they 
would  not  have  many  of  these  boys  and  girls  at  all 
without  the  Sunday  school?  Whatever  knowledge 
of  the  Bible  many  of  them  possess,  whatever  con- 
fidence in  and  desire  for  the  church  these  have,  are 
due  to  the  Sunday  school !  The  truth  is  that  the  Sun- 
day school,  with  its  seeking  out  of  the  little  ones,  its 
attractiveness,  the  shepherding  of  them  by  its  teach- 
ers, is  the  mightiest  evangelizing  force  the  church  has. 
The  ministry  of  many  a  pastor  would  be  compara- 
tively baren  were  it  not  for  the  Sunday  school.  Too 
many  ministers  talk  about  their  additions  to  the  church 
when  it  is  permitted  them  to  gather  into  the  garner  the 

183 


184  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

grain  that  has  been  tended  by  parents  and  Sunday 
school  teachers.  "One  soweth  and  another  reapeth" 
too  many  forget. 

Second,  do  we  not  forget  that  the  Sunday  school 
does  more  to  make  the  young  acquainted  with  the 
whole  Scripture  than  any  other  agency  the  church  has, 
save  those  few  favored  boys  and  girls  whose  parents 
teach  them  the  Scriptures?  Our  preaching  does  not 
do  it,  for  our  preaching  is  too  sporadic.  The  cate- 
chism has  another  object,  namely,  to  teach  the  doc- 
trines essential  to  salvation.  It  does  not  deal  with 
Scripture  as  a  whole,  with  its  history,  its  incidents,  its 
characters,  not  even  with  the  teachings  of  Christ  in 
their  extent.  These  things  the  pastor  expects  the  pupil 
to  know  in  some  measure  before  they  come  to  him. 
Were  it  not  for  the  Sunday  school  there  would  be  a 
deplorable  want  of  knowledge  about  the  primary  facts 
of  the  Bible.  Instead  of  everlastingly  finding  fault 
with  the  Sunday  school  about  its  poor  work,  ought  we 
not  to  acknowledge  these  plain  facts,  and,  rejoicing  in 
the  same,  study  how  the  Sunday  school  may  do  better 
work  ?  There  is  no  wisdom  in  discouraging  your  best 
helpers  by  continual  fault-finding,  but,  encouraging 
them,  incite  to  larger  things. 

Third,  do  we  not  forget  that  the  portion  of  Chris- 
tian congregations  that  know  most  about  the  Bible, 
with  few  exceptions,  are  those  who  have  taught  or 
are  teachers  in  the  Sunday  schools?  Our  experience 
as  pastor  did  not  discover  to  us  that  teachers,  who  had 
been  for  some  years  in  the  Sunday  school  work,  were 
ignorant  of  the  Bible.  On  the  other  hand,  many  were 
well  informed,  and,  because  they  had  opportunity  to 
put  their  knowledge  into  practice,  had  a  heart  under- 
standing of  the  faith  that  was  delightful.  That  you  are 
able  to  rattle  a  number  of  teachers  with  trick  ques- 
tions or  sudden  ones  does  not  mean  that  they  are  ig- 
norant. It  is  not  hard  to  confuse  many  persons.  It 
is  not  easy  to  recollect  things  well  known  when  em- 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  185 

barrassed.  Some  persons  who  examine  others  get 
themselves  up  before  examination,  and  often  must 
have  their  notes  with  them,  even  then,  to  be  sure  of  the 
answers  to  their  own  questions. 

Fourth,  do  we  not  forget  that  the  Sunday  school 
workers  of  the  past  and  present  are  the  vast  majority 
of  the  workers  to-day  in  the  church  ?  Is  it  any  marvel  ? 
There  they  are  taught  the  patience,  the  sacrifice,  the 
toil  essential  to  first-class  Christian  service.  It  is  not 
a  matter  of  little  moment  to  go  to  Sunday  school  Sun- 
day after  Sunday  and  give  an  afternoon  to  a  class  of 
trying  scholars,  where  the  sole  resource  is  the  resource 
of  tact  and  love.  The  day-school  teacher  has  physical 
suasion,  the  resources  of  the  law,  the  backing  of  par- 
ents to  enforce  obedience,  order  and  to  exact  study. 
The  Sunday  school  teacher  is  compelled  to  fall  back 
upon  moral  suasion  and  has  very  little  support  from 
any  other  source.  The  Sunday  school  teacher  of  the 
better  kind  is  a  visitor  of  the  scholar,  and  sacrifices 
time  that  could  be  given  to  pleasant  and  attractive  pur- 
suits to  make  these  visits.  They  must  set  the  example 
of  liberality  to  the  class  and  teach  by  sacrifice  the  joy 
of  giving  to  their  scholars.  Yes!  They  get  training 
that  some  critics  would  shrink  from,  and  because  they 
do  it  for  Christ's  sake  learn  to  know  Him  and  the  joy 
of  His  work  and  continue  on  long  after  they  have  left 
the  Sunday  school. 

Fifth,  do  we  not  forget  that  the  great  truths  of  the 
Christian  religion  are  the  real  things  to  be  taught? 
The  great  and  insistent  demand  of  to-day  is  what — 
to  require  teachers  to  know  the  geography,  the  his- 
tory of  the  Bible  that  stretches  over  four  thousand 
years,  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  orient,  the  crit- 
ical themes  so  rampant,  and  the  like?  All  these  are 
valuable  to  put  a  lesson  in  its  proper  setting  and  thus 
make  it  attractive.  But  the  real  thing  is  to  reveal  those 
truths  concerning  Christ  that  are  necessary  to  salva- 
tion, and  those  truths  which  build  the  scholars  in  the 


186  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

knowledge  of  God  and  in  the  fullness  of  the  Chris- 
tian life.  We  submit  that  this  is  possible  to  plain 
Christian  men  and  women;  that  this  insistence  on 
much  knowledge  is  disheartening  them,  driving  them 
out  of  the  Sunday  schools. 

We  are  free  to  acknowledge  that  better  work  is  de- 
sirable. But  we  should  be  wise.  Let  us  rejoice  that 
we  have  these  men  and  women  that  know  the  vital 
things  and  lead  them  to  study,  that  will  teach  them 
to  know  the  child,  the  Book,  and  how  to  bring  the 
two  together.  So  far  have  some  gone  that  they  are 
asking  for  paid  teachers  who  are  adepts  in  the  new 
education.  But  when  the  mercenary  steps  in,  there  is 
always  danger  of  the  decay  of  the  spiritual.  Even 
the  minister,  who  believes  he  is  called  of  God  to  the 
ministry,  on  whom  rests  the  solemn  vows  of  ordina- 
tion, must  ever  fight  to  keep  himself  true  to  his  Master 
and  above  his  salary. 

Once  more,  do  we  not  forget  that  the  Sunday  school 
advances  ?  A  doctor  of  divinity  writes  that  it  is  fossil- 
ized, that  it  is  not  in  touch  with  the  educational  ad- 
vances. He  must  never  enter  the  Sunday  school.  He 
cannot  read  its  journals,  the  long  line  of  books  written 
concerning  methods  of  teaching.  Give  the  Sunday 
school  time.  It  is  alive  and  working  almost  feverishly 
to  better  itself.  Nor  are  we  to  forget  that  the  new 
things  offered  have  yet  to  be  tested.  Secular  methods 
have  hitherto  not  been  very  successful  in  doing  Christ's 
work. 

Let  every  teacher  stand  fast  and  not  be  discouraged 
by  criticism.  Let  everyone  be  eager  to  avail  himself 
of  anything  that  may  aid.  But  may  he  never  forget 
that  nothing  can  take  the  place  of  God's  Spirit  in  con- 
veying Christ's  truth  to  another.  Let  him  study,  for 
God  does  not  do  what  a  man  can  do  for  himself,  but, 
when  all  is  done,  let  him  remember,  "Paul  may  plant, 
Apollos  may  water,  but  it  is  God  that  giveth  the  in- 
crease." 


A  LITTLE  CHILD 

"Life,"  says  Jean  Paul,  "should  in  every  shape  be 
precious  to  us;  for  the  same  reason  that  the  Turks 
carefully  collect  each  scrap  of  paper  which  comes  in 
their  way,  because  the  name  of  God  may  be  written 
upon  it."  Our  Lord  loved  little  Children,  loved  them 
for  themselves,  loved  them  for  what  they  might  be- 
come. Every  good  Sunday  school  teacher  loves  the 
child  in  itself,  and  never  forgets  its  possibilities.  A 
good  deal  of  fun  has  been  made  of  the  old-fashioned 
orators  who  said  to  the  scholars  that  one  of  them  might 
become  the  President  of  the  United  States.  Yet  it  was 
much  beter  to  think  highly  of  them  than  meanly.  An- 
gell,  the  devoted  friend  of  men  and  children  and  ani- 
mals, when  he  went  to  lecture  in  a  hall  in  a  Vermont 
town,  on  a  hot  night,  says  he  found  it  not  lighted  and 
only  the  janitor  and  half  a  dozen  rough  boys.  "  'Why 
don't  you  light  the  hall  ?'  said  I.  'Well,  I  thought  I'd 
wait  and  see  if  anybody  was  coming,'  said  he.  'Com- 
ing,' said  I ;  'why,  here  's  half  a  dozen  boys  already.' 
'You  ain't  going  to  lecture  to  these  boys,  are  you  ?'  said 
he.  'Certainly  I  am,'  said  I,  'if  nobody  else  comes. 
One  of  them  may  be  governor  of  Vermont  one  of 
these  days  for  aught  I  knozv.' 

"So  he  lit  the  hall  and  gradually  some  hundreds 
gathered ;  and  now  they  have  a  society  there  for  the 
prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals." 

Surely  that  is  a  better  way  to  look  at  the  boys  than 
with  cool  contempt  as  a  set  of  hoodlums.  Christ  never 
despised  children,  but  said,  "Take  heed  that  ye  despise 
not  one  of  these  little  ones."  A  little  child  is  not  far 
from  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  even  when  its  early 
graciousness  has  passed  away,  there  is  response,  and 
evil  habits  are  not  second  nature.  The  day  teacher 
that  develops  the  intellect  of  the  child  adds  a  power 

187 


188  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

that  may  be  used  wisely  or  become  a  bane.  The  Sun- 
day school  teacher  that  develops  the  conscience,  in- 
structs in  right  living,  and  brings  a  child  into  trustful 
love  of  God,  does  an  infinitely  better  work.  Hiram 
Powers  once  said,  "Educate  the  hearts  of  a  people 
and  the  heads  will  take  care  of  themselves.  Give  in 
your  schools  rewards  to  good  boys,  not  to  the  smart 
ones.  God  gives  the  intellect;  the  boy  should  not  be 
rewarded  for  that.  The  great  danger  of  our  country 
is  from  smart  men.  Educate  the  heart — educate  the 
heart.  Let  us  have  good  men."  Wisdom  is  in  these 
words.  Possibly  too  many  have  no  consciousness  of 
the  sacred  trust  given  them  when  a  little  child  is  placed 
under  them.  How  delightful  is  the  prayer  of  Leopold 
Mozart,  which  he  ofifered  for  his  little  son,  Wolfgang, 
then  four  years  old :  "O  Lord,  my  God,  Thou  has  given 
me  a  rare  and  wonderful  flower;  give  me  wisdom  and 
patience  that  I  may  watch  over  it  and  bring  it  to  a 
most  beautiful  unfolding.  Let  the  glory  be  Thine  and 
the  happiness  mine !"  And  God  heard  that  prayer,  and 
the  child  became  the  "master,  the  knight  of  harmony." 
The  wonderful  child  had  already  disclosed  a  genius 
for  music,  which  foretold  the  possibility  of  the  future ; 
but  the  father  wisely  prayed  God  that  he  might  be 
given  grace  to  be  worthy  of  the  trust  reposed  in  him. 

Every  one  of  us  should  not  only  be  alive  to  the  pos- 
sibilities of  every  little  child,  but  we  should  take  them 
from  the  Master  in  trust  for  Him,  and  pray  for  wis- 
dom and  patience  to  watch  over  them  and  bring  them 
to  beautiful  unfolding.  Not  what  is,  but  what  may  be, 
should  be  the  way  we  look  at  a  little  child,  and  then, 
remembering  the  wonderful  power  of  example  and 
teaching,  surround  them  with  all  the  influences  that 
will  bring  that  possibility  to  reality. 

In  such  work  with  little  children  there  will  be  dis- 
appointment and  failure  in  some  cases,  but  there  will 
be  also  happy  results  in  others.  There  may  be  a  de- 
cided difference  in  the  happy  results.    There  are  chil- 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  189 

dren  that  respond  quickly  and  indicate  very  early  rich 
capabilities  for  goodness.  There  are  others  who  mature 
slowly,  and  in  later  years  only  disclose  the  fruit  of  the 
loving  care  of  the  teacher.  It  has  seemed  to  me  in  our 
day  that  there  is  entirely  too  much  stress  laid  upon  the 
former  class.  Our  organizations  are  hot-beds  of  piety. 
They  want  apples  as  well  as  strawberries  in  the  spring, 
and  when  the  apple  refuses  to  ripen  before  its  time, 
they  rather  doubt  whether  the  apple  is  a  fruit  at  all. 
One  can  sympathize  with  many  children  who,  like 
Samuel,  early  show  a  godly  disposition  and  hear  the 
voice  of  God  and  answer  thereto.  Angell  tells  us  of 
a  bright  school-girl  from  Hartford  whom  he  met  in 
the  mountains  and  interested  in  his  humane  work. 
When  she  returned  she  spent  the  time  left  after  school 
and  lessons  in  urging  this  work  of  the  prevention  of 
cruelty  to  animals,  first  upon  her  own  clergyman,  and 
secured  from  him  his  church  for  a  meeting.  Then  she 
secured  the  co-operation  of  the  other  clergymen.  Next 
she  went  to  the  editors  and  asked  if  they  would 
write  something  in  favor  of  the  object  and  the  meet- 
ing. The  result  was  a  great  gathering  and  a  great 
society.  There  are  just  such  girls  and  boys  who  re- 
spond at  once  and  do  nobly,  and  our  temptation  is  to 
despair  of  others,  neglect  them  and  unconsciously 
make  these  our  favorites.  But  there  are  diflferences  of 
administration,  and  often  the  slower  ones  are  the  most 
thoughtful  and  conscientious  in  the  end.  They  heat 
slowly,  like  the  great  back  log  in  the  fireplace,  but 
when  once  alight,  hold  the  fire  all  through  the  night. 
I  was  talking  with  a  teacher  the  other  day  who  gave 
this  bit  of  experience :  "I  taught  my  class  of  girls  for 
years,  and  there  was  no  response.  I  almost  despaired, 
and  at  last,  one  by  one,  they  came  forward  and  gave 
themselves  to  the  Lord."  I  said,  "I  venture  to  say 
they  have  remained  steadfast."  "Yes,"  was  the  reply, 
"they  have,  and  among  the  best  workers  in  the  church 
to-day  are  the  old  members  of  my  class." 


190  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

Would  it  not  be  well  to  keep  these  truths  in  mind 
as  we  teach  the  little  children?  Loving  God,  let  us 
love  them  for  what  they  are,  for  what  they  may  be- 
come. Let  us  rejoice  with  trembling  in  our  sacred 
trust.  If  one  of  our  children  early  turns  to  God  with 
the  whole  heart  and  becomes  a  laborer  with  God,  let 
us  be  thankful.  But  if  one  does  not  respond  quickly, 
let  us  reflect  that  God  is  with  us,  that  He  has  given  us 
this  duty,  and  let  us  be  patient  and  prayerful,  and,  per- 
haps, the  last  shall  yet  be  first. 


THE  SEED  AND  THE  SOIL 

Are  there  not  two  things  to  be  thought  of  in  teach- 
ing? The  teacher  brings  the  truth,  the  scholar  re- 
ceives the  truth.  The  results  will  be  incomplete  when 
one  or  the  other  factor  is  missing  or  imperfect. 

The  parable  of  the  sower  emphasizes  this.  The 
sower  sows  sound  and  wholesome  seed,  the  word  of 
God.  The  seed  fails  wherever  there  is  no  proper  re- 
ception. The  sower  may  do  his  work  well,  the  seed 
may  be  good,  but  if  the  soil  be  the  hard-beaten  path,  or 
the  thin  covering  on  the  rock,  or  the  thorn-possessed 
earth,  there  is  failure.  There  must  be  good  ground  to 
receive  the  seed  if  there  is  to  be  abundant  harvest.  On 
the  other  hand,  to  the  good  soil  must  be  given  the  right 
seed,  for  it  will  be  possessed  by  rank  weeds  if  it  be  not 
occupied  with  wholesome  grain. 

As  we  look  at  one  side  or  the  other,  certain  truths 
are  apparent.  If  the  ground  be  prepared  and  good, 
even  if  a  child  scatter  in  sorry  fashion  the  seed, 
it  will  be  taken  and  spring  up  into  harvest,  uneven 
and  in  spots,  perhaps,  but  a  harvest.  The  prepared 
heart  will  receive  truth  from  any  source  and  respond. 
The  prepared  heart  is  sensitive  to  truth.  Who  has  not 
noticed  that  when  a  fervent  appeal  had  been  made, 
those  who  were  trying  to  do  right  felt  that  they  must 
do  more?  The  willing  horse  in  the  team  is  ever  the 
first  to  respond  to  the  crack  of  the  whip.  Someone 
has  said,  "When  you  want  anything  done  ask  a  busy 
man  to  do  it,  and  the  chances  are  he  will  squeeze  it  in 
somehow  and  do  it ;  but  never  ask  a  lazy  man,  with 
plenty  of  leisure — you  will  wait  forever  and  never  get 
it  done."  Who  has  not  known  the  faithful  to  respond 
to  rebuke,  whilst  the  neglectful  blandly  ignored  the 
pointed  words?  As  a  pastor,  after  a  sharp  sermon, 
how  often  did  the  faithful  come  and  confess  that  they 

191 


192  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

needed  the  reproof,  whilst  the  very  ones  for  whom  it 
was  intended,  laughing  and  chatting  with  their  friends, 
left  the  church  apparently  unconscious  that  they  were 
the  sinners  meant.  It  was  the  prepared  soil  that  made 
the  difference. 

Some  time  ago  the  editor  of  one  of  our  best  religious 
papers  published  the  substance  of  two  letters  he  had 
received.  One  expressed  the  glowing  gratitude  of  the 
writer  for  the  help  and  instruction  derived  from  the 
articles  in  its  columns,  and  especially  for  the  comfort 
and  uplift  the  editorials  had  given.  The  other  ex- 
pressed the  opposite  sentiments,  berating  the  editor  for 
the  general  lack  of  finish  and  thought  in  the  editorials, 
and  intimated  that  unless  there  was  improvement,  the 
outlook  for  the  journal  was  gloomy.  The  editor,  after 
some  judicious  comments,  humorously  said,  "Please, 
sir,  I  did  the  best  I  could." 

The  teacher  may  take  a  great  deal  of  comfort  out  of 
this.  Some  persons  with  more  zeal  than  judgment  are 
always  berating  the  teachers  because  they  do  not  bring 
all  their  scholars  to  Christ.  They  speak  of  better  work, 
more  prayer,  more  consecration.  No  one  will  object 
to  counsels  of  this  kind,  for  everyone  will  acknowledge 
he  is  not  what  he  might  be.  But  when  all  is  said,  the 
fact  of  the  reception  remains  to  be  considered. 

Christ  Himself  could  not  persuade  some  men  to  re- 
ceive the  truth.  Their  prejudices,  love  of  sin,  hard- 
heartedness,  filled  Him  with  indignation  and  grief. 
He,  the  Omnipotent,  was  helpless,  for  omnipotence  it- 
self will  not  interfere  with  the  choice  of  men.  If  the 
scholars  are  not  influenced,  the  fault  may  lie  in  their  re- 
ception of  the  truth,  and  not  in  our  giving  of  the  mes- 
sage. Our  great  concern  is  to  bring  the  word  of  God, 
the  seed,  faithfully,  in  love,  to  the  heart,  the  soil.  The 
result  is  not  in  our  power. 

There  is  another  thing  worth  thinking  about.  There 
are  times  when  the  message  is  received  by  only  a  few 
in  a  great  congregation  and  becomes  to  them  the  word 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  193 

of  life.  The  sermon  may  interest,  but  not  profit  others, 
or  to  the  bulk  of  the  listeners  be  an  indifferent  affair, 
even  dull.  Either  they  are  not  in  need  of  it,  or  not 
alive  to  it,  or  not  ready  to  take  it.  Yet,  the  few  will 
never  forget  the  words  which  revealed  the  truth  their 
souls  needed. 

In  our  teaching  there  is  like  experience.  Some  les- 
sons will  appeal  to  one  or  two  at  most,  the  others  will 
not  heed.  Yet  it  is  valuable  to  teach  them,  for  they 
are  life  to  a  portion  of  the  class.  George  Macdonald 
gives  an  instance  of  a  woman  who  had  committed  a 
grievous  sin.  She  slipped  into  a  church  in  the  strange 
city  to  which  she  had  gone  in  shame.  The  clergyman 
was  speaking  of  Peter's  denial.  How  differently  it  all 
sounded  to  her.  who  also  had  denied  the  Master,  than, 
when  untempted,  she  had  wondered  how  anyone  could 
do  so  base  a  thing.  Then,  as  the  preacher  spoke  of 
Christ's  tender  look  upon  Peter,  with  its  mingled  sor- 
row and  love,  the  Lord  seemed  to  look  on  her.  Kneel- 
ing in  the  pew,  she  confessed  her  sin,  and  peace  came 
to  her  troubled  soul.  She  was  prepared  to  receive  the 
truth  which  before  she  could  not  take  to  her  heart. 

All  this  will  not  cause  us  to  be  less  painstaking  in 
our  teaching,  though  it  may  support  us  in  failure.  We 
are  the  sowers,  to  whom  Christ  has  given  the  honor  and 
the  duty  of  providing  sound  seed,  the  truths  of  God's 
word,  to  scatter  into  hearts.  We  may  not  tell  when 
the  soil  is  prepared,  or  when  the  scholar  will  receive 
into  an  honest  and  good  heart  the  word.  Negligence 
may  cause  us  to  miss  the  precious  opportunity.  It 
would  be  sad  for  them  to  miss  God's  truth  because  of 
our  negligence,  sad  for  us  not  to  use  the  opportunity 
afforded  us. 

Nor  should  we  overlook  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Pie  goes  before  and  prepares  the  heart  for  the  truth ; 
He  is  with  the  teacher  and  helps  him  to  utter  the  right 
truth.  Paul  was  a  great  teacher,  but  how  he  felt  his 
dependence  upon  the  Spirit.     Lydia  was  an  earnest 

13 


194  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

woman,  but  the  Lord  opened  her  heart  to  the  words 
of  Paul. 

The  other  day  a  friend  said,  "You  ministers  have 
terrible  odds  to  contend  with.  There  are  so  many 
temptations  to  a  worldly  and  wicked  life,  so  many 
subtle  oppositions  young  people  must  meet  nowa- 
days." The  reply  was,  "Yes,  but  God  is  on  our  side." 
He  is  the  great  factor  apt  to  be  forgotten ;  He  is  with 
every  faithful  teacher,  making  man's  words  His 
words. 

Unless  we  humbly  let  Him  work  through  us,  all 
our  wise  schemes  and  bright  words  are  nothing.  One 
word  which  the  Holy  Spirit  takes  is  in  power  infinitely 
above  our  much  speaking,  as  one  seed  with  the  germ  of 
life  is  infinitely  beyond  a  multitude  of  seeds  out  of 
which  the  life  has  gone. 


AVOIDING  DISPUTES 

The  Old  Testament,  which  we  are  now  studying, 
is  at  present  a  great  battle-ground.  Disputes  are  rag- 
ing fiercely  over  almost  every  portion.  So  little  would 
some  of  the  critics  allow,  that,  unless  someone  disputed 
their  statements,  nothing  would  be  left  of  the  Old 
Scriptures  except  a  few  historical  events,  which  are 
conceded  to  us,  not  because  the  Bible  gives  them,  but 
because  they  are  established  by  the  testimony  of  in- 
scriptions that  have  been  found  in  long-buried  cities 
and  tombs. 

The  animus  of  certain  higher  critics  apparently  is 
that,  in  itself,  the  Old  Testament  is  not  to  be  trusted. 
They  do  not  appear  ever  to  feel  that,  because  the  Bible 
says  a  certain  thing,  a  presumption  is  created  that  it 
is  true;  but  rather  appear  determined,  because  it  does 
say  it,  to  show  that  it  is  the  very  reason  not  to  trust 
it,  which  appears  to  be  a  singular  way  of  acknowledg- 
ing it  to  be  the  word  of  God.  Whilst  the  researches 
of  many  of  the  critics  have  happily  been  in  a  much 
more  reverent  temper,  yet  there  is  unfortunately  too 
much  theorizing  and  guessing  on  the  part  of  the  major- 
ity. Good  results  have  been  obtained,  but  also  much 
harm  has  come  through  the  theories  suggested.  A 
feeling  of  uncertainty  has  been  created  as  to  the  trust- 
worthiness of  the  chronicles  of  the  Scriptures.  Curious 
guesses  have  been  made,  and  half  denials  of  long- 
accepted  facts  on  very  slight  evidence  have  been 
uttered. 

These  theories  and  contradictions  have  been  com- 
mon property,  and  are  talked  about  by  many  who  know 
very  little  about  such  things.  There  will  be  a  desire 
to  drag  them  into  the  class-work  and  air  them  there, 
consuming  the  time  to  the  exclusion  of  better  things. 
The  Pentateuch,  for  instance,  when  it  was  written, 

195 


196  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

how  it  was  written,  what  part  belongs  to  Moses,  what 
to  the  priests,  may  be  taken  as  an  example.  The  wise 
teacher  will  firmly  repress  all  such  disputes. 

He  can  assert  the  general  principle  that  disputes  in 
a  class  are,  for  the  most  part,  pernicious  evils.  The 
important  truths  for  the  moral  and  religious  lives  of 
the  scholars  are  lost  sight  of  in  the  dispute,  and,  ere  the 
noise  of  the  wordy  warriors  is  over,  the  bell  rings 
and  the  time  for  instruction  is  past.  Some  time  ago 
a  class  whilst  studying  one  of  the  rich  lessons  in  the 
life  of  Christ,  was  deprived  of  the  whole  lesson,  be- 
cause one  of  the  bright  but  thoughtless  girls  inter- 
ested in  the  subject  of  predestination,  dragged  it  into 
the  lesson  and  persisted  in  disputing  about  it  with 
her  teacher.  In  a  church,  a  young  men's  prayer-meet- 
ing that  had  made  a  healthy  beginning,  was  completely 
broken  up  because  two  or  three  well-meaning  persons 
thought  it  was  a  debating  ground  where  they  could  dis- 
play their  peculiar  notions.  Prayer  became  infrequent, 
their  disputes  taking  the  time.  The  young  men  soon 
grew  tired  of  the  wordy  war,  and  refused  to  attend. 
The  prayer-meeting  might  have  had  the  epitaph, 
"Talked  to  death."  So,  in  these  disputes  about  the 
Old  Testament,  let  the  teacher  firmly  insist  that  these 
will  not  be  permitted,  and  proceed  to  the  unfolding  of 
the  moral  and  religious  truths  of  the  lesson. 

If  the  subjects  are  such  as  can  be  handled,  let  the 
teacher  express  readiness  to  talk  them  over  after  the 
school,  or  at  a  time  appointed  when  the  teacher  and 
disputatious  scholar  may  meet  together  and  go  over 
the  whole  matter  calmly. 

The  teacher  again  should  refuse  to  entertain  such 
disputes  because  these  questions  belong  to  learned 
scholars  as  yet.  They  require  trained  minds  and  pecu- 
liar acquirements.  Experts  in  special  lines  are  here 
demanded.  The  controversy  of  such  points  by  those 
without  any  preparation  in  these  lines  is  a  sheer  waste 
of  time. 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  197 

The  teacher  can  safely  say,  We  will  await  certain 
results  on  these  discussions  before  we  dispute  con- 
cerning them.  So  far,  little  that  is  certain  has  been 
brought  out.  One  theory  after  another  has  had  its 
day  and  passed  away.  The  facts  that  have  been 
secured  through  researches  into  the  inscriptions  of  the 
buried  cities  and  tombs  have  destroyed  many  plausible 
suppositions  which  were  put  forth  with  much  effront- 
ery, and  have  verified  the  Scriptures. 

Indeed,  the  amount  of  theorizing  just  now  in  certain 
lines  taxes  credulity  to  the  utmost.  In  a  recent  peri- 
odical, creative  motherhood  is  put  forth  to  account  for 
great  changes  in  animals  by  one  who,  in  his  anxiety 
to  establish  the  theory  of  materialistic  evolution  and 
to  get  rid  of  God  the  Creator,  gravely  offers  this  with 
no  proof  whatever  to  substantiate  it.  He  also  suggests 
a  buried  continent  in  the  Indian  Ocean  to  escape  the 
fact  that  there  is  no  link  between  man  and  the  anthro- 
poid apes,  or  no  trace  of  a  progenitor  common  to  both. 
If  the  supposed  buried  continent  could  be  examined, 
then  he  supposes  the  missing  link  or  the  common  pro- 
genitor would  be  found.  When  men  who  claim  to  be 
scientific  can  indulge  in  such  wild  surmises,  we  can 
well  afford  to  wait  until  substantial  facts  are  pre- 
sented ere  we  consent  to  accept  the  theories  proffered. 

Once  more,  the  teacher  can  refuse  to  allow  disputes 
on  these  points,  because  he  can  urge  that  the  moral 
and  religious  truths  are  those  which  are  the  chief 
things.  They  can  be  verified  by  every  man  for  him- 
self. They  are  as  true  now  as  they  were  then.  They 
appeal  to  the  conscience.  Experience  proves  them  to 
us  now  just  as  certainly  as  they  proved  them  to 
the  Israelites.  God  is  near  to  everyone  that  obeys 
Him,  and  reveals  Himself  to  those  who  trust  Him  and 
love  Him.  The  other  questions  satisfy  the  intellect, 
these  the  heart.  They  profit  for  a  little  while,  these 
profit  for  this  world  and  for  the  world  to  come. 

Jesus  the  Lord  always  refused  to  be  drawn  into 


198  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

perverse  disputes,  but  ever  presented  the  deep  truth. 
When  a  man  asked  Him,  "Whether  there  be  few  that 
be  saved  ?"  He  did  not  even  reply  to  him,  but  said  unto 
them,  "Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate ;  for  many, 
I  say  unto  you,  will  seek  to  enter  in  and  shall  not  be 
able."  Curiosity  was  the  cause  of  the  question.  The 
Lord  turned  from  the  curiosity-monger  and  spake  a 
word  of  warning  and  urgent  command  that  those  who 
heard  might  give  themselves  to  the  real  issue,  and  not 
miss  eternal  life  through  foolish  disputes  which  would 
not  and  could  not  be  of  advantage  to  anyone. 


THE  TEACHER'S  SIN 

David  was  a  man  so  great  that  he  was  distinguished 
in  many  directions.  He  was  soldier,  statesman,  musi- 
cian and  poet.  But,  after  all,  nothing  has  so  endeared 
him  to  after  ages  as  his  psalms,  in  which  he  has  crys- 
talized  his  knowledge,  faith  and  love  in  God,  wrought 
out  by  trial  and  experience.  He  was  a  religious 
teacher  of  the  highest  order.  He  impressed  upon  the 
people  whom  he  ruled,  who  had  grown  lax  in  religious 
worship  and  conduct,  the  need  of  worship,  and  organ- 
ized their  religious  life  and  laid  the  foundations  for  a 
central  sanctuary,  the  temple,  whither  the  tribes  might 
resort  and  be  brought  and  kept  in  fellowship  with 
Jehovah  by  its  daily  sacrifices  and  worship.  This  in 
itself  marks  him  a  great  religious  reformer,  a  teacher 
of  high  rank.  Yet  the  psalms,  in  which  the  inner  re- 
ligious life  is  recorded,  exalt  him  still  more  as  teacher. 
His  words  have  been  chanted  by  the  Jews  in  all  ages 
to  express  their  adoration  and  prayers  to  God ;  the 
countless  millions  of  Christians  have  strengthened 
themselves  by  David's  psalms  in  all  these  centuries, 
pillowing  their  heads  in  death  upon  his  words ;  Paul 
finds  in  him  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith, 
whilst,  most  wonderful  of  all,  on  the  cross  itself  the 
blessed  Lord,  in  His  supreme  agony,  lifts  His  soul 
to  God  in  David's  words. 

This  teacher  so  marvelous,  sins — sins  wretchedly. 
What  a  shock  it  must  have  been  to  the  nation  to  whom 
he  had  been  so  great  an  example  of  righteousness  and 
whose  words  had  been  as  the  words  of  God !  He  re- 
pented and  God  forgave  him,  but  one  sees  the  teacher's 
sin  weakened  his  influence  and  robbed  him  of  his  peo- 
ple's confidence.  It  is  impossible  otherwise  to  account 
for  the  strength  of  Absalom's  rebellion  and  the  defec- 
tion of  the  people. 

199 


200  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

David's  transgression  followed  him.  Men  who  did 
not  know  him  personally,  nor  the  sincerity  of  his  re- 
pentance, sneered  at  him  :  "This  is  the  saint  who  taught 
us  God.  He  is  no  better  than  others — worse  even,  for 
he  is  a  hypocrite."  They  lost  respect  not  alone  for 
him  but  for  the  truth,  and  were  ready  to  listen  to 
Absalom's  treachery.  Nor  was  this  the  only  conse- 
quence. Ever  since,  David's  conduct  has  been  a 
stumbling-block  to  many  who  cannot  understand  how 
he  was  a  man  after  God's  own  heart,  and  has  given  oc- 
casion for  sneers  at  religion  and  encouraged  evil- 
doers in  evil. 

Sin  ever  leaves  its  stain.  Repentance  may  be  bitter 
and  sincere,  but  the  sin  will  not  be  forgotten.  The  in- 
fluence of  a  blameless  life  is  forfeited.  The  evil-dis- 
posed gather  encouragement  to  go  on  in  sin.  The 
power  of  teaching  others  is  weakened.  Nothing  is 
more  painful  to-day,  in  these  days  of  sensations,  than 
the  prominence  given  as  teachers  to  gross  sinners  who 
have  repented,  over  pure  and  blameless  men.  The 
glibness  and  apparent  relish  with  which  dissolute  lives 
are  recounted  before  mixed  audiences  to  enhance 
God's  mercy,  is  unhealthy.  One  does  not  find  David 
lingering  over  the  details  of  his  sin,  but  in  heart-broken 
petitions  and  thanksgiving,  seeking  God  and  not  men. 
The  sinner  forgiven  may  teach  and  should  teach,  but 
in  all  humility  and  with  little  allusion  to  the  details  of 
his  sin,  such  lowly  allusion  as  Paul  made  to  his  public 
acts  against  God's  kingdom. 

The  teacher  whose  life  is  upright  should  also  learn 
that  he  must  shun  sin  for  the  best  and  noblest  work. 
As  he  values  influence,  as  he  longs  to  advance  God's 
cause  and  the  truth,  he  must  beware  of  sin.  With  sin 
will  come  not  alone  the  loss  of  power  over  those  taught, 
but  also  they  will  be  encouraged  to  go  into  like  sin. 

If  one,  however,  has  been  betrayed  into  sin,  David, 
the  teacher,  shows  us  what  to  do.  There  is  a  way 
of  return.     God  is  ready  to  forgive  Avhen  the  man 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  201 

loathes  the  sin  and  not  merely  shrinks  from  the  con- 
sequences of  sin.  Those  penitential  psalms  are  the 
cries  of  the  heart  sick  of  sin,  crying  for  deliverance  to 
Him  who  alone  can  cleanse  and  forgive. 

Herein  God,  who  maketh  even  evil  to  work  out 
good,  hath  caused  David's  sin  and  forgiveness  to  be 
for  the  help  of  the  sinful.  How  many,  as  they  have 
read  his  story  and  marked  the  way  he  was  led  to  re- 
pentance, the  forgiveness  given,  have  trod  the  same 
way  and  cried  as  he  did  unto  God  until  they,  too,  have 
been  compassed  about  with  songs  of  deliverance !  The 
teacher  who  has  sinned,  returning  unto  God,  may 
still  undo  some  of  the  evil  influences  of  his  sin  and 
humbly  lead  others  to  return  unto  God. 

Yet  let  us  observe  that  David's  power  in  this  direc- 
tion was  gained  by  his  patient  submission  to  the  con- 
sequences of  his  sin,  and  by  the  life  of  righteousness 
which  he  manifested  ever  afterwards.  The  notable 
change  from  the  people's  indifference  and  contempt 
to  confidence  and  love  occurs  after  Absalom's  rebellion. 
In  that  flight  from  Jerusalem,  he  proved  nobly  his 
heart  was  right  with  God.  He  resigned  himself  to 
the  rebellion  as  a  righteous  punishment  for  his  sin. 
He  bore  the  defections  as  justified  by  his  conduct. 
He  patiently  endured  the  curses  of  Shimei  as  part  of 
God's  chastisement,  not  suffering  his  mighty  men  to 
slay  the  foul-mouthed.  The  pathetic  cry  in  the  cham- 
ber over  the  gate  reveals  that  he  knew  his  sin  brought 
about  Absalom's  death,  and  that  he  and  not  Absalom 
should  have  died.  Such  patience,  submission,  recog- 
nition of  sin  and  yet  sublime  trust  as  the  psalms  of  this 
period  manifest,  caused  all  Israel  to  see  the  heart  of 
the  king  was  fixed  on  God.  The  sin  had  been  but  a 
lapse  in  a  life  devoted  to  God. 

The  teacher  that  has  sinned  should  bear  the  con- 
sequences of  sin  submissively,  without  repining. 
When  our  guilt  is  known  w^e  are  not  to  whine  because 
we  are  not  restored  to  favor  when  we  have  said,  "I 


202  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

am  sorry."  We  should  not  be  discouraged  by  averted 
looks  and  loss  of  confidence.  Men  know  our  sin,  but 
they  do  not  know  our  hearts  and  cannot  tell  whether 
the  repentance  be  genuine.  The  way  to  confidence  is 
the  way  of  patient  submission  to  God's  will,  brave 
bearing  of  the  consequences  of  sin,  nobility  of  conduct. 
God  knows  us,  and  in  Him  is  our  strength ;  to  Him 
we  can  go  for  comfort.  After  awhile  the  victory  will 
come,  the  trial  be  over.  Men  will  witness  by  their  confi- 
dence and  love  restored  to  that  which  God  gave  at 
once  when  sin  was  confessed,  the  forgiveness  in  which 
He  took  us  back  into  His  love  and  peace. 


SUMMER  WORK 

In  summer  many  schools  have  their  best  opportuni- 
ties. City  schools  dwingle  until  but  a  handful  of  the 
busy  winter  hive  remains,  but  in  the  country,  schools 
are  full  and  vigorous.  Indeed,  in  some  sections  the 
schools  open  with  the  spring  and  close  with  the  autumn. 

The  teacher  in  such  schools  may  enhance  the  profit 
derived  from  the  lessons  by  using  the  illustrations 
nature  gives,  which  every  scholar  may  verify.  The 
great  Teacher,  Jesus,  was  ever  leading  through  every- 
day sights  and  events  His  scholars  to  understand  spir- 
itual truths.  The  sower  going  out  to  sow,  the  harvest 
with  its  separation  of  the  wheat  from  the  chaff,  the 
grain  of  mustard  seed,  the  shepherd  and  his  sheep,  the 
lilies  of  the  field,  were  the  illustrative  lights  by  which 
the  truths  of  God  were  seen  and  understood.  He  thus 
taught  that  the  book  of  nature  is  also  God's  book,  and 
through  the  natural  we  may  rise  to  the  supernatural. 
Paul,  following  Him,  could  find  no  better  way  to  ex- 
press life  out  of  death  than  the  grain  of  wheat  sown, 
coming  through  death  to  another  body. 

A  child  is  imaginative.  It  likes  to  see  truth  in 
pictures.  "Pilgrim's  Progress"  owes  its  lasting  hold 
upon  so  many  to  the  fact  that  in  it,  by  a  series  of 
pictures,  John  Bunyan  has  made  the  Christian  life  an 
abstract  truth  to  be  easily  understood.  The  burden 
carried  by  Christian  on  his  back,  that  rolls  off  and  dis- 
appears under  the  cross,  does  make  us  understand  sin 
is  a  weary  load  and  that  by  the  cross  sin  is  taken 
away;  though  no  one  ever  carried  his  sins  done  up 
in  packages  on  his  back,  or  saw  them  rolled  under  the 
cross,  it  is  a  vivid  picture  of  the  condition  of  the  soul 
under  sin  and  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin  through  Jesus 
Christ. 

Our  summer,  therefore,  should  help  us  in  our  les- 

203 


204  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES   S.   ALBERT 

sons.  There  is,  for  instance,  the  contrast  of  the  Httle- 
ness  of  the  seed  sown  with  the  abundant  harvests. 
The  little  quantity  of  spiritual  seed  sown  may  be  con- 
trasted with  the  large  spiritual  harvests — as  when 
Paul  sows  the  seed  in  Philippi  and  other  places  in 
Europe,  and  reaps  his  own  harvest  of  many  and  strong 
churches,  whilst  in  these  last  centuries  the  exceeding 
great  harvest  from  that  seed  sown  in  the  hundreds  of 
millions  of  European  and  American  Christians.  From 
this  it  is  easy  to  lead  to  the  thought  that  when  we  sow 
the  seed  of  the  word  of  God,  there  will  be  harvest. 
We  must  be  patient  and  wait  for  it. 

Or,  every  child  sees  the  hen  mothering  the  little 
brood,  her  devotion  and  watchful  care,  her  courage 
that  braves  danger  for  these  downy,  helpless  chicks. 
Paul  at  Corinth,  refreshed  by  the  vision  of  the  Lord, 
"Be  not  afraid,  and  hold  not  thy  peace ;  for  I  am  with 
thee,  and  no  man  shall  set  on  thee  to  hurt  thee,"  can 
be  illustrated  by  the  hen  and  her  chickens,  even  as  the 
Lord  used  this  of  Himself  and  of  His  care  when  He 
said,  "O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem !  how  often  would  I 
have  gathered  you  together  as  a  hen  gathereth  her 
chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not." 

There  are  many  places  in  the  lessons  for  illustrative 
work,  as  the  reference  to  the  wolves  rending  the 
flock  at  Ephesus,  or  to  those  who  sleep  in  Jesus  kept 
by  Him,  just  as  life  was  kept  in  bulb  and  bud  to  burst 
forth  into  flower  and  blossom  when  the  day  of  the 
spring  came,  a  day  of  nature's  Lord,  as  the  resurrec- 
tion day  will  be  the  day  of  the  Christian's  Lord. 

But  there  is  another  class  who  will  reap  advantage 
by  careful  thought  concerning  summer  work,  namely, 
those  who  are  away  from  home  several  or  more  weeks 
in  the  summer.  It  has  unfortunately  grown  to  be  a 
habit  with  many  to  dismiss  their  regular  Christian 
work  and  even  worship  during  the  summer  vacations. 
Yet  they  continue  to  feed  the  body  regularly,  it  being 
not  uncommon  for  some  to  eat  more  than  when  at 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  205 

home.  The  word  of  God,  the  worship  of  God,  are  the 
food  of  the  soul;  to  do  without  these  is  to  starve  the 
soul.  Wherefore  many  come  back  home  very  lean, 
whilst  others  are  easily  led  into  sin  when  away  because 
there  is  no  robust  strength  to  meet  temptation,  just  as 
the  weakened  body  is  unable  to  resist  disease. 

Why  should  the  summer  be  passed  without  study 
and  work?  Life  is  such  a  rush  in  these  days,  so  full 
of  engagements,  pleasures  and  labors,  that  the  serious- 
minded  might  well  seize  gladly  upon  the  summer's  out- 
ing more  diligently  to  study  God's  word.  What  better 
use  of  time  than  for  scholars  and  teachers  to  take 
with  them  their  "Lesson  Books"  and  "Teachers"  dur- 
ing the  summer,  with  books  bearing  upon  them,  and 
thus,  gathering  stores  of  information,  come  back  to 
classes,  having  kept  up  the  study  of  the  lessons  and  rich 
in  knowledge  and  wisdom.  Truly,  this  would  be  better 
than  to  pore  over  novels  day  in  and  day  out.  Read 
other  things  indeed,  but  give  time  also  to  this  noble 
work. 

There  are,  moreover,  opportunities  to  do  good. 
Many  places  will  be  glad  to  see  your  faces  in  their 
schools,  and  give  you  chances  to  substitute.  You  may 
interchange  ideas  with  these  Christian  workers,  per- 
haps, having  had  better  opportunities,  give  hints  and 
drop  thoughts  that  may  be  of  untold  good.  At  least 
you  can  cheer  your  brethren  by  your  sympathy.  You 
can  speak  a  word  for  Christ.  The  quiet  words  we 
speak  in  the  Master's  name  may  echo  in  eternity. 

"Forty  years  ago  two  travelers  stopped  their  horses 
at  a  brook  for  water;  as  they  looked  in  each  other's 
faces,  one  spoke  to  the  other  concerning  the  welfare 
of  his  soul.  They  parted  strangers  as  they  met ;  but 
the  words  of  love  found  lodgment  in  the  heart  into 
w'hich  they  fell.  So  Champion  became  a  Christian,  a 
minister,  a  missionary.  He  never  knew  his  benefactor 
till,  in  a  volume  sent  him  in  Africa  from  this  country, 
he  saw  and  recognized  James  Bayard  Taylor." 


206  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

There  may  be  openings  for  benefactions.  Some 
have  thus  used  their  summers,  finding  opportunities  to 
aid  the  Master's  work.  They  have  sought  out  the 
strugghng  pastors  and  congregations,  and  have  learned 
their  wants.  On  their  return  home,  welcome  books 
have  gone  to  the  pastor's  library,  timely  donations  to 
him  and  the  congregation.  Unnoticed  and  burdened 
Christians  have  been  discovered,  and,  if  nothing  else 
was  done,  on  their  return  bright  and  happy  letters  have 
gone  back,  carrying  sunshine  to  the  darkened  homes. 
Everywhere  there  are  chances  to  live  for  Christ,  to  be 
loyal  to  His  cause,  to  love  in  His  name  the  worldly  and 
those  astray,  to  speak  for  Him  the  word  revealing 
Him. 

There  is  no  reason  that  summers  should  be  wasted. 
As  the  bees  gather  out  of  the  summer  flowers  honey 
for  the  winter  store,  we  may  in  summer  days  gather 
the  honey  of  God's  word  for  winter  use.  As  the  sum- 
mer provides  the  autumn's  fruits,  so  we  may  so  use  the 
summer  that  fruit  may  abound  to  our  praise  and  honor 
and  glory  in  the  day  of  His  appearing. 


I 


DECISION  FOR  CHRIST 

Everyone  who  reads  thoughtfully  the  Gospel  narra- 
tives must  see  that  the  teachings  and  miracles  of  Christ 
made  a  wonderful  impression  on  the  people.  They 
knew  that  He  was  more  than  the  ordinary  man.  Nico- 
demus  expresses  the  common  conviction  when  he  says, 
"We  know  Thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God,  be- 
cause no  man  can  do  the  miracles  Thou  doest  except 
God  be  with  him."  In  the  discusion  that  His  doings 
and  claims  occasioned,  this  must  have  been  freely  as- 
serted by  many,  and  could  only  be  gainsaid  by  the 
blasphemy,  "He  casteth  out  devils  by  Beelzebub,  the 
prince  of  devils" ;  "He  is  of  the  devil,  who  gives  Him 
power  that  He  may  deceive  the  foolish  with  these 
works."  Many  were  impresed,  but  few  decided  to  ac- 
cept His  invitations  and  obey  Him  as  a  teacher  sent 
from  God.  There  were  many  reasons.  Some  loved 
their  sins ;  some  were  afraid  of  the  Jewish  religious 
leaders  and  the  persecutions  that  might  arise  if  they 
came  out  on  His  side ;  some  were  loth  to  go  contrary 
to  the  multitude,  or  to  their  friends,  and  join  them- 
selves to  One  who  offered  them  a  lowly  lot  and  cross- 
bearing;  some  were  not  convinced  that  He  could  help 
them.  The  reasons,  when  examined,  are  pretty  much 
the  same  reasons  that  now  prevent  men  from  deciding 
to  cast  in  their  lot  with  Jesus. 

It  was,  however,  very  unfortunate  for  many  who 
were  moved  by  Christ's  works,  truth  and  love,  that  they 
could  not  pass  out  of  their  awakened  state  and  decide 
for  Him.  Even  if  we  concede  to  them  that  they  meant 
well  and  were  favorably  disposed  to  Him,  yet  the  lack 
of  decision  was  bound  to  be  disastrous. 

Truth,  if  it  is  to  be  ours,  must  rule  us.  It  cannot 
rule  us  unless  we  decide  that  it  shall.  To  long  and  yearn 
for  truth  is  not  enough ;  we  must  do  it.   We  may,  in- 

207 


208  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

deed,  be  ready  to  listen,  but  we  do  not  possess.  Christ 
could  give  rest,  but  alone  to  those  who  decided  to  obey 
His  invitation,  "Come  unto  me."  If  we  have  heard  of 
some  place  that  offers  us  joy,  it  is  not  enough  to  think 
well  of  it,  but  we  must  decide  to  go.  If  I  am  offered 
a  trip  to  the  Paris  Exposition  next  summer,  I  must  not 
only  be  pleased  with  the  kindness  of  him  who  invites, 
but  must  decide  to  go.  It  is  the  sole  way  by  which  I 
may  possess  its  joys  and  benefits. 

There  is  another  side.  Impressions  when  first  made 
are  strong  and  enticing.  When  they  are  not  followed 
by  decision,  other  impressions  are  made,  and  the  first 
lose  their  attractiveness.  Our  Saviour  alludes  to  this 
when  He  speaks  of  the  birds  of  the  air  picking  up  the 
seed  from  the  wayside.  They  that  will  not  decide  and 
take  the  truth  into  the  depths  of  the  heart  will  find 
other  thoughts  and  plans  coming  to  pick  up  the  seeds 
of  truth  and  destroy  them.  To  put  off  decision,  in 
many  cases,  is  to  decide  against  Christ,  verified  by 
many  instances  that  everyone  knows. 

There  is  a  very  sober  consideration  which  is  oft 
overlooked.  God  wants  us  to  decide  for  Christ.  When 
we  fail  to  decide,  we  disobey  and  sin.  The  force  of 
the  parable  of  the  wicked  husbandman  lies  in  this, 
that  the  Lord  of  the  vineyard  expected  obedience  and 
return  of  fruit.  They  decided  against  His  messengers, 
against  His  Son,  and  killed  Him.  Practically,  the  man 
that  decides  against  Christ  returns  no  fruit  of  holy  liv- 
ing and  obedience,  is  a  rebel  against  the  just  claims  of 
God,  and  eventually  destroys,  by  his  example  and  con- 
duct, the  kingdom  of  God. 

Decision,  again,  puts  us  squarely  on  the  side  of  right. 
It  is  an  act  of  righteousness,  for  this  is  the  right  thing 
to  choose,  the  right  thing  to  do,  the  right  thing  to  con- 
tinue doing.  Decision  invigorates.  It  is  the  step  that 
makes  Christ's  strength  ours  and  gains  for  us  ability 
to  go  on  doing  the  right.  When  Christ  was  baptized. 
He  made  open  confession  that  He  stood  by  God's  mes- 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  209 

senger,  John,  and  acknowledged  his  baptism  to  be 
God's  appointment.  He  thus  fulfilled  all  righteous- 
ness, and  immediately  there  came  the  Father's  appro- 
val and  the  full  indwelling  of  the  Spirit.  Just  as  .surely, 
when  we  decide  for  and  confess  Christ,  there  will  come 
God's  blessing  and  grace,  and  in  no  other  way.  God's 
way  of  salvation  and  His  appointments  must  be 
acknowledged  if  we  would  be  righteous  and  obtain 
prevailing  grace. 

Lay  it  down  as  an  unchangeable  truth  that  self-sur- 
render precedes  moral  ability.  He  that  would  have 
Christ  must  decide  for  and  surrender  himself  to  Him. 
The  experience  that  follows  is  proof  of  this.  "I  re- 
member distinctly  one  experience  in  my  own  life,  when 
I  had  been  very  rebellious,  and  when  I  said  to  myself, 
'I  will  not  do  what  I  know  I  ought  to  do.'  Then 
I  remember  how,  after  I  had  been  carrying  on  the 
struggle  for  a  long  time,  I  broke  down  and  I  said, 
'Lord,  I  give  it  all  up ;  I  make  a  full  surrender ;  I  will 
do  what  is  right.'  Light  and  peace  and  power  came 
to  me  then,  and  the  things  I  said  I  could  not  do  were 
the  things  I  found  I  could  do  and  have  done  ever 
since." 

Decision,  moreover,  cuts  ofif  temptation.  He  that  de- 
cides crosses  from  the  debatable  territory  into  the  land 
where  Christ  is.  He  is  at  once  freed  from  many  temp- 
tations. As  long  as  a  man  is  undecided,  he  is  beset 
by  solicitations  from  all  sides  to  remain  where  he  is, 
to  go  against  Christ.  The  moment  he  decides,  they 
lose  their  force. 

Once  more,  decision  brings  fellowship  with  Christ. 
He  is  able  to  show  Himself  unto  us.  When  Andrew 
and  John  decided  to  accept  Christ's  invitation,  "Come 
and  see,"  it  was  not  long  before  they  knew  Him  to  be 
the  Messiah.  They  learned  of  Him  day  by  day.  They 
were  taken  by  Him  away  from  the  crowds  and  in  some 
quiet  place  taught  greater  and  greater  truths.  They 
deepened  in  faith  and  love.     They  learned  of  Him; 


210  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

not  always  easy  truths  and  duties,  but  truths  and 
duties  so  precious  and  great  that  in  the  very  nobiHty 
of  them  they  found  His  yoke  easy.  "A  teacher's  yoke 
is  easy  when  his  doctrine  commends  itself  to  reason 
and  conscience.  An  easy  yoke  does  not  necessarily 
imply  a  low,  accommodating  ideal  of  life.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  teacher's  ideal  may  be  lofty,  exacting,  ap- 
parently unattainable,  yet  the  reverse  of  burdensome 
because  sweetly  reasonable  and  true  to  the  deepest 
instincts  of  the  soul."  It  is  ever  thus  with  the  decided 
soul.  In  fellowship  with  Jesus,  it  learns  from  Him 
the  truths  and  duties  which  satisfy,  and  in  whose  pos- 
session and  performance  the  soul  finds  its  joy  and 
the  way  to  the  stature  of  Christ. 

In  these  days  many  of  our  scholars  are  facing  de- 
cision for  Christ.  These  words  are  written  with  the 
hope  that  they  may  aid  teachers  to  counsel  them  wisely. 
They  are  also  written  to  remind  everyone  that  de- 
cisions are  to  be  made  even  after  the  first  great  decision 
for  Christ,  and  that  the  reasons  here  set  forth  are  ever 
the  weighty  ones  for  the  decisions  of  our  whole  Chris- 
tian life.  Our  safety  and  happiness  depend  upon 
straightforward  and  immediate  decisions  for  Christ 
and  His  commands. 


THE  MASTER'S  METHODS  WITH  MEN 

Jesus  Christ  was  the  supreme  Teacher.  His  matter 
and  method  outrank  those  of  all  teachers  before  Him 
and  after  Him.  His  matter  is  both  simple  and  pro- 
found The  common  people  hear  Him  gladly,  yet  the 
students  and  wise  men  of  all  ages  have  never  fathomed 

His  sayings.  .       .  ,    ,,.         ,,     , 

But  our  concern  in  this  article  is  with  His  methods 
rather  than  with  His  matter.  In  the  discussion  of  His 
methods  we  shall  take  our  examples  from  John.  From 
such  study  we  ought  to  learn  that  we  must  vary  our 
methods  of  reaching  others  with  the  truth  in  accord- 
ance with  the  character  and  circumstances  of  the  indi- 
vidual. 

Jesus  did  much  individual  work.  He  was  not  un- 
duly exalted  or  inspired  by  a  crowd.  His  teachings 
to  the  multitudes  are,  indeed,  wonderful.  He  could 
speak  plain  thoughts  in  a  plain  manner,  as  in  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount.  He  could  formulate  an  entire  new 
way  of  presenting  truth,  as  in  the  parables,  whose 
beauty  and  effectiveness  are  unique  and  unapproach- 
able. But  great  as  was  His  power  with  multitudes, 
three-fourths  of  the  wise  and  exquisite  sayings,  which 
are  reported  to  us  by  the  evangelists,  were  uttered  to 
individuals  or  to  little  groups  of  men  and  women  in 
familiar  conversation.  He  seemed  to  prefer  face-to- 
face  talks.  He  wanted  to  get  to  close  quarters  and 
bring  the  soul,  stripped  of  excuse,  to  face  the  truth 
and  Himself. 

He  does  not  care  whether  His  scholar  is  influential 
or  despised.  He  is  just  as  much  concerned  for  the 
woman  of  Samaria,  of  shady  reputation,  as  for  the 
ruler  of  the  lews,  of  unblemished  reputation. 

He  puts  first  things  first.  There  is  probably  nothing 
that  is  more  fatal  to  true  instruction  than  undue  em- 

211 


212  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

phasis  on  the  less  important  things.  This  seems  to  be 
the  glaring  fault  of  modern  education,  which  seeks  to 
cover  the  whole  field  of  knowledge  for  a  child,  and  it 
results  in  a  smattering  of  almost  everything  and  real 
knowledge  of  nothing.  Little  children  are  burdened 
with  a  load  of  books  and  taught  almost  every  con- 
ceivable subject  and  then  cannot  spell  or  read  cor- 
rectly. 

A  good  deal  of  our  Bible  study  is  being  guided  in 
the  same  direction.  A  large  mass  of  matter,  geo- 
graphical, historical,  archaeological,  critical  and  the 
like,  is  to  be  drilled  into  the  scholars.  So  much  time 
is  taken  up  with  secondary  things  that  first  matters  are 
neglected,  the  saving  truths  and  the  moral  truths  of  the 
Scriptures.  Christ  knew  the  Old  Testament,  but  we 
do  not  find  Him  settling  erudite  questions.  When  the 
woman  of  Samaria  would  have  changed  the  search- 
ing personal  conversation  to  a  discussion  of  the  fiercely 
debated  question  whether  Mount  Gerizim  or  Mount 
Moriah  was  the  place  to  worship  God,  He  refused  to 
be  drawn  into  controversy  and  put  a  first  thing  before 
her,  namely,  that  God  is  a  spirit  and  must  be  worshiped 
in  spirit  and  in  truth.  Take  up  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
and  observe  how  little  He  deals  with  the  questions 
which  interest  so  many  to-day,  such  as  the  authorship 
of  the  different  books,  or  what  Moses  wrote  or  did 
not  write.    He  always  puts  first  things  first. 

His  method  with  the  Samaritan  woman  empha- 
sizes the  truth  that  the  first  thing  needed  is  to  gain  the 
goodwill  of  the  scholar,  if  instruction  is  to  be  made 
possible.  He  and  she,  according  to  the  status  of  Jews 
and  Samaritans,  are  enemies.  She  knows  the  Jews 
despise  Samaritans.  The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  remove 
the  ill-feeling  and  gain  her  goodwill.  He  does  it  by 
asking  of  her  a  favor,  a  drink  of  water.  How  simple 
and  yet  how  effective!  To  get  another  to  do  you  a 
service  is  to  soften  him  at  once.  Here  is  the  prin- 
ciple.   The  means  to  gain  the  goodwill  of  the  scholar 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  213 

will  vary,  and,  therefore,  they  must  be  sought  out 
by  us. 

If  we  turn  to  the  incident  of  the  washing  of  the 
disciples'  feet  we  will  find  Jesus  dealing  in  quite  a 
different  way  with  the  disciples  from  that  in  which 
He  dealt  with  the  Samaritan  woman.  They  are  at 
bitter  odds,  contending  passionately  for  the  first  place. 
They  are  not  fit  to  receive  those  last  precious  dis- 
courses. How  shall  He  bring  them  to  a  sense  of  their 
wicked  pride  and  soften  their  hearts  toward  each 
other.  He  utters  no  word  of  rebuke,  for  that  would 
have  angered  them  still  more  or  made  them  sullen. 
He  sets  before  them  the  greatness  of  humble  service 
by  Himself  washing  their  feet.  That  melts  their  hearts, 
and,  repentant,  they  are  ready  to  hear  His  last  words. 
There  is  a  time  not  to  rebuke.  There  is  a  time  to  do 
a  service  which  shall  rebuke  more  than  words. 

We  have  but  space  for  one  more  illustration.  It 
sets  forth  how  we  should  treat  the  penitent.  Peter  had 
denied  the  Master  with  curses,  but  he  had  also  re- 
pented from  the  heart.  The  risen  Lord  and  the  sad 
disciple  are  together.  Mark  how  gently  and  yet  how 
firmly  Jesus  demands  a  public  confession  of  love  after 
the  public  denial.  Thrice  he  had  cursed,  thrice  Peter 
is  made  to  say,  "Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee." 
With  it  all,  the  Master  restores  him  to  full  apostleship 
and  gives  back  to  him  his  work.  He  does  not  forgive 
without  marking  the  sin.  He  does  forgive  utterly. 
One  of  the  great  secrets  of  character-building  is  to 
make  a  man  clean  and  honest  in  dealing  with  himself. 
That  is  absolutely  necessary  if  victory  is  to  be  won. 

Generally  speaking,  then,  Jesus  studied  the  individ- 
ual, what  he  most  needed,  how  he  could  best  be  ap- 
proached. He  kept  main  issues  to  the  front,  and  did 
not  permit  the  soul  to  shift  the  conversation  to  trivial 
things  that  it  might  not  face  the  truth.  He  went  from 
some  common  ground  to  other  things,  from  water  to 
quench  the  thirst  to  the  water  of  life,  from  the  wind 


214  LIFE    AND    WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

in  the  street,  coming  and  going  no  one  knew  whence 
or  whither,  to  the  work  of  the  Spirit.  He  had  com- 
plete understanding  of  the  primal  law  of  education, 
so  strenuously  insisted  upon  by  the  wise  educators  of 
to-day.  Find  out  what  is  in  the  mind  of  the  scholar 
and  from  common  knowledge  lead  on  to  what  you 
wish  to  teach. 

His  manner  toward  others  was  not  patronizing.  He 
knew  all  things.  But  He  was  attentive,  sympathetic, 
patient  with  every  inquirer  after  truth. 

Yet,  when  all  is  said,  we  must  not  forget  that  His 
personality  told  most  in  all  that  He  said  and  did.  He 
met  someone,  like  the  woman  of  Samaria,  perhaps 
but  for  a  few  moments.  He  uttered  a  few  words  and 
they  altered  life  forever.  Our  personality  will  be  the 
greatest  power  in  influencing  others.  Cultivate  per- 
sonality, for  that  will  give  life  to  method. 

Moreover,  whoever  puts  himself  in  God's  hand  to 
be  used,  will  be  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit  both  how 
to  approach  others  and  how  to  convey  truth  to  them. 


"HEADS  OF  FAMILIES" 

Did  you  ever  read  in  the  church  papers  any  an- 
nouncements Hke  the  following?  "On  last  Sabbath 
eighteen  persons  were  received  into  church  fellow- 
ship, of  whom  all  but  four  were  heads  of  families." 
'"On  last  Sabbath  twenty-three  new  members  were  re- 
ceived, of  whom  all  but  five  zuere  adults." 

Why  state  the  fact  that  the  majority  were  "heads  of 
families,"  or  that  the  greater  number  were  "adults"? 
The  reason  is  evident.  The  fact  stated  is  regarded  as 
a  cause  for  special  congratulation  and  rejoicing.  The 
assumption  underlying  the  announcement  is  that  the 
coming  into  the  church  of  the  head  of  a  family  is  more 
important  than  the  coming  in  of  a  child  of  the  family, 
and  that  the  addition  to  the  church  of  an  adult  is  more 
desirable  than  that  of  a  youth.  Both  of  which  assump- 
tions are  false  in  philosophy  and  at  variance  with  the 
facts  of  experience. 

But  why  should  anyone  be  led  to  make  such  an  as- 
sumption ?  Is  the  soul  of  an  adult  more  precious  in 
the  sight  of  God  than  that  of  a  child?  Is  there  more 
promise  for  the  church  in  the  life  that  is  nearly  "burned 
out"  than  in  the  one  that  has  before  it  a  whole  life- 
time of  possibilities?  Why  rejoice  more  in  limited 
possibilities  than  in  unlimited?  Why  rejoice  in  the 
fact  that  a  man  is  "born  out  of  season"  rather  than 
that  he  is  born  in  season?  Why  pay  premium  to  duty 
long  delayed  and  reflect  upon  service  promptly  of- 
fered ? 

Observation  reveals  the  fact  that  the  great  majority 
of  those  in  the  church  entered  before  they  were 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  of  these  the  great  major- 
ity before  they  were  twenty  years  of  age,  which  indi- 
cates that  youth  is  the  time  in  which  the  heart  most 
naturally  turns  to  God.    If  it  is  the  time  most  natural, 

215 


216  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.   ALBERT 

then  it  is  the  time  ordained  of  God,  and  is,  therefore, 
the  best  time.  But  some  of  us  have  not  yet  come  to 
understand  this  fact. 

"How  many  did  your  pastor  receive  into  church 
at  Easter?"  "Forty-three,  but  they  zvere  nearly  all 
children."  Yes,  "just  children" !  No  old,  withered, 
leafless,  fruitless  trunks,  just  some  straight,  healthy, 
young-  trees  from  the  nursery  planted  in  God's  vine- 
yard, to  be  watered  by  the  Spirit  and  to  grow  and 
develop  and  bear  fruit  for  a  lifetime.  What  would 
you  think  if  a  man  should  point  to  a  hundred  men,  and 
say,  "There  are  a  hundred  honest  men,  and  the  thing 
which  especially  pleases  me  is  the  fact  that  eighty 
of  them  were  not  honest  until  they  were  past  middle 
life"?  You  would  at  once  say,  "I  would  rather  see 
a  hundred  men  who  were  honest  from  their  youth;  I 
would  have  more  confidence  in  both  the  character  and 
the  fruits  of  their  honesty." 

Underneath  the  above-named  assumption  is  a  lack  of 
appreciation  of  the  importance  of  early  Christian  cult- 
ure, and  out  of  this  comes  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  the 
importance  of  that  department  of  the  church  which 
has  most  to  do  with  the  religious  training  of  our  chil- 
dren, namely,  the  Bible  school.  It  is  to  call  attention 
to  this  fact  that  this  article  is  written. 

That  there  is  need  of  turning  attention  in  this  direc- 
tion no  one  who  has  thought  seriously  on  the  question 
will  doubt.  A  few  in  the  church  believe  in  the  mis- 
sion and  influence  of  the  Bible  school;  a  great  many 
do  not.  They  would  regret  to  have  the  school  abol- 
ished, but  they  are  doing  nothing  to  make  its  continua- 
tion possible.  They  do  not  know  who  are  the  teach- 
ers thereof  nor  the  character  of  their  work.  They  are 
rather  particular  as  to  who  shall  preach  to  them  from 
the  pulpit,  but  indifferent  as  to  who  shall  teach  their 
children  in  the  Bible  school.  They  never  require  their 
children  to  study  the  lesson.  When  their  children  are 
small  they  send  them  to  the  school.     When  they  get 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  217 

larger,  if  they  choose  to  absent  themselves  they  are 
permitted  to  do  so  on  the  most  insufficient  reason  or 
for  no  reason  at  all.  save  that  they  do  not  want  to  go. 

There  are  church  officers — not  a  few — who  never 
attend  the  Bible  school  of  the  congregation  whose 
spiritual  interests  they  have  been  elected  to  watch  over. 
They  could  not  name  half  the  teachers  in  the  school ; 
they  know  nothing  of  the  character  of  the  teaching; 
they  could  not  tell  you  what  system  of  lessons  is  used ; 
they  could  not  tell  you  whether  the  school  is  larger  or 
smaller  than  last  year.  They  would  sincerely  regret 
to  learn  that  the  school  was  on  the  decline,  but  they 
are  doing  nothing  to  prevent  its  declension.  They  have 
been  in  office  for  years,  but  have  never  paid  the  school 
the  small  courtesy  of  even  an  "official"  visit. 

There  are  pastors  who,  while  they  are  not  indiffer- 
ent to  the  Bible  school,  do  not  adequately  appreciate 
its  value  and  importance  to  the  church.  They  do  not 
give  to  it  the  time,  thought  and  personal  attention  it 
so  richly  deserves  and  which  its  possible  outcome 
would  so  fully  justify.  Being  myself  a  pastor,  I  do 
not  hesitate  to  speak  plainly,  and  all  the  more  so  be- 
cause I  feel  that  my  own  practice  merits,  to  some  ex- 
tent, the  condemnation  of  my  own  preaching  on  this 
point.  It  is  true  there  is  a  limit  to  what  one  man  can 
do.  The  mistake  which  the  busy  pastor  sometimes 
makes  is  not  that  he  does  not  do  more,  but  that  he  does 
not  wisely  distribute  his  labors.  Prevalent  notions  of 
his  work  have  led  him  to  believe  that  his  chief  duty  is 
with  the  adult  portion  of  his  congregation.  So  preva- 
lent is  this  notion  that  the  interests  of  the  child,  with- 
out intention  on  his  part,  have  been  neglected.  Not 
only  has  the  child  suffered  by  reason  of  this  neglect, 
but  the  church  has  also  suffered  in  this  that  it  has  not 
reached  its  possible  growth  and  efficiency.  The  energy' 
of  her  ministry  has  not  been  placed  where  it  will  yield 
the  largest  return. 

The  writer,  after  a  number  of  years  of  observation, 


218  LIFE   AND    WORKS   OF   CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

having  given  two  years  to  the  exclusive  study  of  the 
work  of  the  Bible  school,  is  convinced  that  there  is  no 
department  of  the  work  of  the  Church  that  is  more 
Scriptural  in  method  and  character  than  that  of  the 
Bible  school  when  rightly  conducted ;  none  that  will 
yield  larger  results  in  personal  salvation  and  church 
growth ;  none  that  will  more  naturally  and  effectively 
develop  the  spiritual  life  and  power  of  the  church ; 
none  that  opens  up  such  a  direct  way  to  succeeding 
generations ;  none  that  will  bear  such  multiplied  reach 
of  power.  Conversion  at  the  end  of  life  means  one 
soul  saved;  at  the  beginning  of  life  it  means  one  soul 
saved  to  save  many  others.  He  who  would  multiply 
his  labors  must  point  those  to  Christ  who  will  lead 
others  to  the  cross. 

In  the  work  of  the  Bible  school  we  touch  life  at  that 
period  when  the  soul  is  as  "sensitive  as  wax  and  as 
retentive  as  granite."  We  touch  character  in  its 
foundation  processes.  We  set  in  motion  forces  which 
will  deepen  in  strength  and  multiply  in  power. 

In  all  that  we  have  said  there  is  nothing  that  is  new, 
but  much  that  is  important.  It  needs  to  be  repeated 
and  repeated  until  its  truth  crystalizes  into  conviction 
and  conviction  speaks  in  action. 


I 


VISION  OF  THE  SPIRITUAL 

In  the  reasonable  demand  that  methods  of  teaching 
should  be  bettered,  and  teachers  taught  how  to  teach, 
it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  the  matter  to  be  taught 
is.  after  all  is  said,  the  important  thing.  It  is  a  curi- 
ous feature  that  a  large  part  of  the  criticism  to-day 
of  the  Sunday  school  teacher,  and  the  demand  for 
pedagogical  teaching,  comes  from  men  and  women 
who  have  practically  surrendered  the  distinctive  re- 
ligious teachings  of  Christianity,  and  now  offer  to 
teach  instead  facts,  so-called,  and  give  information 
concerning  the  Bible.  It  is  a  case  of  giving  stones 
instead  of  bread.  The  teacher  that  has  a  vision  of  the 
spiritual  may  be  imperfect  in  method,  but  is  infinitely 
better  than  the  teacher,  perfect  in  method,  who  has 
never  caught  a  vision  of  the  spiritual  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

What  do  we  mean  by  a  vision  of  the  spiritual?  We 
mean  the  vision  of  the  saving  truths  of  Christianity,  a 
vision  that  has  been  actualized  by  acceptance  and  con- 
firmed by  precious  experience. 

What  are  these  saving  truths?  We  have  not  space 
to  specify  all,  but  only  some  of  the  most  important. 

First  of  all,  we  place  the  truth  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  divine  Saviour.  This  is  fundamental,  just  as  we 
learned  in  the  lesson  on  Peter's  confession  at  Caesarea 
Philippi.  It  includes  the  conviction  that  Jesus  is  divine, 
the  only-begotten,  that  it  was  necessary  for  Him  to 
die  that  He  could  save  sinful  men.  Jesus,  the  Saviour, 
my  Saviour,  the  teacher  must  know  personally.  For 
He  alone  can  deal  with  the  problem  of  sin  which,  with 
all  sincere  souls,  is  the  distressing  problem  until  set- 
tled through  repentance  and  faith  in  Christ.  "How 
can  I,  a  sinner,  meet  a  just  God?"  This  is  the  question 
forced  home  upon  every  honest,  deep-thinking  soul. 

219 


220  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

It  must  be  settled.  The  knowledge  of  sin  carries  with 
it,  too,  a  right  comprehension  of  righteousness  and 
holiness.  The  man  that  has  a  low  sense  of  sin  has 
a  low  sense  of  righteousness,  and  a  man  that  has  a 
low  sense  of  righteousness  has  no  need  of  a  Saviour, 
and  scoffs  at  the  idea  that  God  needed  to  send  His  own 
Son  to  put  away  sin  and  make  men  righteous. 

The  teacher  that  can  present  Jesus  as  the  divine 
Saviour  so  that  the  scholars  accept  Him  as  Saviour, 
and  follow  Him  as  Saviour,  may  not  be  conversant 
with  modern  methods,  but  will  be  right  in  the  central 
teaching,  without  which  knowledge  is  vain. 

The  next  spiritual  truth  of  which  there  should  be 
vision  is,  that  in  the  Scriptures  and  in  Jesus  Christ 
there  is  light  on  all  the  perplexing  questions  of  the 
moral  and  spiritual  life.  For  that  reason  we  study 
Christ  and  the  Scriptures  as  interpreted  by  His  teach- 
ings and  life.  In  Him  and  them  are  the  great  truths  that 
give  light  concerning  God.  Do  I  want  to  know  God? 
I  find  Him  a  Father  in  Jesus ;  I  find  His  character, 
heart,  purpose,  set  forth  in  Jesus  and  the  Scriptures. 
Do  I  want  to  know  myself?  There  is  the  answer:  a 
son  of  God  fallen,  but  who  can,  through  Christ,  be 
pardoned,  and  can  become  like  Christ.  How  shall  I 
live?  The  example  of  Christ,  the  teachings  of  the 
Bible,  these  will  give  light  as  to  conduct.  The  Holy 
Spirit  will  use  these  to  give  us  light. 

The  next  spiritual  truth  necessary  to  be  known  is 
this — that  power  is  given  us  to  become  the  children 
of  God.  It  is  not  enough  to  know  that  there  is  for- 
giveness, not  enough  to  know  to  what  we  are  called 
as  children  of  God,  but  we  must  have  power  to  over- 
come sin  and  live  righteously.  That  is  what  God  does. 
Pie  not  only  forgives  those  repentant  for  Christ's  sake, 
but  puts  within  them  a  new  life  principle,  which 
changes  the  heart  and  gives  grace  to  overcome.  He 
gives  this  power  through  the  means  of  grace,  the  word 
and  the   sacraments.     He   does  this  in  the   Church, 


VVOKK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  221 

where  the  Holy  Ghost  sanctifies  the  believer  and  pre- 
serves him  in  union  with  Jesus  Christ  in  the  true  faith. 

In  other  words,  here  is  the  gospel  of  hope  to  sinful 
ones.  There  is  power  sufficient  for  everyone.  We 
need  but  observe  the  conditions  and  we  will  prevail. 
He  that  will  pray  for  grace  and  obey  will  overcome. 

Another  spiritual  truth  is  the  realization  of  God's 
fellowship  and  sympathy  in  our  life.  This  is  most 
clearly  shown  in  Christ  Jesus.  His  life  on  earth,  His 
promises,  His  fulfillment  of  these  promises,  as  wit- 
nessed in  the  Apostolic  Church  and  since,  all  show  that 
we  are  not  to  struggle  alone  or  toil  alone.  "He  is  with 
us  alway."  Every  Christian  that  lives  unto  Christ  soon 
realizes  His  fellowship  and  sympathy.  All  men  may 
forsake  us.  but  the  Lord  stands  by  us. 

The  vision  becomes  reality.  It  is  a  most  precious 
truth  to  bear  to  others,  a  truth  which  comforts,  in- 
spires, encourages.  When  we  know  it,  we  can  speak 
with  a  joy  that  carries  conviction. 

Then  there  is  the  vision  of  the  certainty  of  victory 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  His  resurrection  and 
ascension  confirm  this  to  us.  God  will  raise  up  all  the 
dead  at  the  last  day,  and  will  grant  everlasting  life 
to  all  who  believe  in  Christ.  There  is  no  such  thing 
as  failure.  There  is  more.  There  is  the  realization 
of  our  longings.  At  last  we  shall  be  without  spot  or 
blemish,  and  be  holy  and  happy. 

These  are  essential  things.  They  demand  a  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  and  His  word,  full  and  large,  for  the 
best  and  most  efifective  teaching.  But  it  is  not  a 
knowledge  beyond  the  capacity  of  any  teacher.  Unless 
he  has  the  vision  and  knowledge  of  these  truths,  he 
will  be  a  miserable  failure  as  a  Christian  teacher.  He 
may  know  all  the  facts  and  history  contained  in  the 
Bible,  be  skillful  to  interest  and  hold  the  attention, 
know  all  about  the  ways  of  conveying  knowledge  of 
the  outward  things  of  the  Bible,  and  even  of  morality, 
but  he  will  be  an  utter  failure  as  a  Christian  teacher 


222  LIFE    AND    WORKS    OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

if  he  knows  not  these  spiritual  truths,  and  has  no  help 
from  the  Spirit  in  his  teaching. 

It  is  not  intended  in  these  words  to  convey  the  im- 
pression that  methods  are  not  good,  and  that  we  should 
not  seek  to  know  the  art  of  teaching.  All  these  will 
help  make  teaching  effective,  strong,  illuminating  and 
fascinating.  But  it  is  meant  as  a  note  of  warning, 
that  the  men  that  forget  the  spiritual  essential  truths 
will  not  lead  scholars  to  Christ,  will  not  build  them  into 
personal  life  with  Him.  Devotion  to  methods  cannot 
replace  Christ  as  the  Divine  Saviour. 


THE  CATECHETICAL  CLASS  AND  THE 
TEACHER 

We  as  Lutherans  are  in  the  season  of  catechetical 
instruction.  The  pastor  has  gathered  his  class  and  is 
instructing  them  week  by  week,  in  the  doctrines  of  sal- 
vation. He  teaches  them  the  law  summarized  in  the 
Ten  Commandments;  the  gospel  summarized  in  the 
Creed ;  the  approach  to  God  in  prayer  as  set  forth  in 
the  Lord's  Prayer ;  the  means  of  grace,  as  given  in  the 
explanation  of  the  third  article  of  the  Creed,  the  word 
of  God  preached,  taught  and  read,  and  the  sacraments, 
baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper. 

It  is  very  needful  that  this  instruction  should  be 
given,  patiently  and  thoroughly.  For  the  catechetical 
class  is  the  place  to  teach  the  great  doctrines  of  the 
Church,  to  teach  them  systematically  and  plainly  at  the 
period  when  such  teaching  makes  deep  impression  and 
when  the  memory  is  most  retentive.  We  teachers 
may  do  something  in  the  way  of  doctrine,  but  we  can- 
not do  it  systematically,  and  we  lack,  many  of  us,  the 
thorough  mastery  of  doctrine  which  the  pastor  has. 

Besides,  there  is  in  this  systematic,  week  by  week,  in- 
struction, the  value  of  repeated  instruction,  of  instruc- 
tion, too,  that  leads  from  one  thing  to  another,  from  a 
sense  of  sin  to  what  God  has  done  for  us  in  Christ,  then 
it  leads  us  to  lay  hold  on  Christ,  then  to  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  then  to  the  knowledge  of  how  we  may  be 
kept  faithful  to  Christ,  then  to  the  need  of  the  Church, 
prayer,  the  sacraments,  obedience.  So,  step  by  step, 
the  catechumen  is  led  on,  until  he  makes  his  decision  to 
openly  confess  his  faith  in  Christ,  in  His  Church.  He 
does  it  understandingly,  provided  he  has  paid  atten- 
tion to  what  he  has  been  taught.  He  knows  what  he 
believes. 

If  he  commits  the  catechism  he  stores  his  mind  and 

223 


224  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

heart  with  the  great  truths  of  redemption  and  salva- 
tion. They  will  abide  with  him  for  his  comfort  and 
strength.  They  may  be  forgotten  for  a  time,  but,  even 
though  one  may  wander,  in  days  to  come  they  will 
return  to  him  and  may  lead  him  back  to  fellowship 
with  the  Lord  he  has  denied. 

The  catechetical  class  gives  the  pastor  an  oppor- 
tunity to  meet  in  the  most  loving  and  intimate  way  with 
his  young  people.  Dealing  with  the  very  heart  of 
Scriptural  truth,  he  can  press  home  upon  them  the 
need  of  a  Saviour,  the  need  of  faith,  the  loveliness  of 
Christ,  the  worth  of  the  Church,  the  beauty  of  a  life 
lived  with  Christ.  Coming  to  them  after  prayer  for 
wisdom,  his  heart  on  fire,  he  can  fire  their  hearts  in 
turn.  Conviction  and  decision  for  Christ  almost  al- 
ways follow. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  how  much  impression  is  being 
made.  I  had  a  letter  from  a  devoted  Christian  worker, 
but  a  short  time  ago,  thanking  me  for  the  instruction 
of  twenty-five  years  before  and  the  inestimable  benefit 
it  had  been  to  her.  I  have  observed,  also,  the  peculiar 
and  abiding  afifection  given  to  the  faithful  minister  by 
those  whom  he  catechised  and  confirmed.  He  is  to 
them  precious  as  one  that  showed  them  the  King  in 
His  beauty. 

We  need  at  this  time  to  recall  that  our  age  espe- 
cially needs  sound  doctrine.  The  tendency  is  to  every 
vagary  under  the  sun.  The  Sunday  School  Times,  in 
an  article  headed,  "Our  Willful  Religion,"  speaks  of 
"the  baneful  tendency  of  our  age  to  cut  loose  from  all 
leadership  in  spiritual  things  and  set  up  to  become 
one's  own  guide.  It  is  evident  that  one  pope  is  better 
than  for  every  untrained  mind  to  become  its  own 
pope."  We  need  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  those  who  have 
made  a  study  of  doctrine  and  to  learn  what  the  Church 
has  believed.  When  we  have  learned  that,  we  have 
learned  what  the  Lord  has  blessed  and  what  the  Spirit 
unfolded.     To  me  it  has  ever  been  a  helpful  rule  not 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  225 

to  diverge  from  what  the  Church  has  taught,  unless 
thoroughly  convinced  that  there  was  error,  and  be- 
cause I  have  learned  the  larger  truth.  As  the  Spirit 
guided  the  Church  in  the  past,  I  am  very  suspicious 
of  all  who  claim  that  now,  at  last,  after  nearly  twenty 
centuries,  the  Spirit  has  spoken  through  them,  and  all 
the  good  of  the  past  neither  knew  their  Lord  nor  their 
Bible.  This  is  not  consistent  either  with  sense  or  the 
teaching  of  Christ  Himself. 

Those  thoroughly  indoctrinated  are  apt  to  be  stable 
Christians.  A  Roman  prelate  once  said  to  a  Lutheran 
pastor  that  the  only  churches  with  a  future  are  the 
Catholic  and  Lutheran  Churches,  because  they  take 
great  care  in  educating  their  children.  Whilst  this  is 
an  over-statement,  it  is  fair  to  say  that  thorough  re- 
ligious education  makes  a  stable  Church  and  stable, 
steadfast  believers. 

If  these  things  appear  just  and  reasonable,  then,  as 
teachers,  we  ought  to  cordially  support  the  pastor  in 
his  catechetical  work.  We  should  use  our  influence 
with  our  scholars  to  persuade  them  to  attend.  We 
should  take  the  deepest  interest  in  them  whilst  they 
attend,  indicating  by  word  and  look  our  pleasure.  We 
should  urge  them  to  be  present  regularly.  We  should 
counsel,  even  urge  them,  if  we  have  opportunity,  to 
choose  Christ  as  Saviour  and  Lord.  Lessons  like  Abra- 
ham's Call,  Lot's  Choice,  God's  Covenant  with  Abra- 
ham readily  lend  themselves  to  this  purpose.  As  the 
day  of  decision  approaches,  we  should  earnestly  pray 
for  them.  We  should  urge  them  to  attend  the  church 
services  regularly,  encouraging  them  by  our  example. 

Then  you  may,  at  the  Eastertide,  rejoice  in  your 
scholars  confessing  Christ  and  entering  upon  the  Chris- 
tian life  of  goodness,  usefulness  and  love. 


LOOKING  AT  TEACHING  IN  A  LARGE  WAY 

Our  interest  in  instruction  will  depend  upon  our 
conception  of  its  seriousness,  desirability  and  neces- 
sity. The  enthusiastic  common-school  teacher  does 
not  take  either  lightly  or  indifferently  the  branches  he 
teaches.  He  will  permit  no  trifling  on  the  part  of  his 
pupils.  The  knowledge  he  seeks  to  convey  he  sin- 
cerely believes  to  be  both  desirable  and  necessary  to 
them.  He  impresses  upon  them  the  seriousness  and 
importance  of  their  studies  to  fit  them,  in  the  best  and 
largest  sense,  for  the  duties  and  pleasures  of  life.  Both 
teachers  and  scholars,  under  such  convictions,  are  in 
earnest  to  acquire  and  are  serious  in  their  work. 

Possibly  one  great  weakness  of  the  Sunday  school 
is  that  its  teaching  and  study  are  not  considered 
serious,  desirable  and  necessary.  Of  course,  there  is  a 
general  idea  of  this  kind,  but  as  applied  it  is  not  in  evi- 
dence. What  day  teacher  would  stay  away  from  the 
school  on  any  pretext?  Or  would  come  to  the  class 
without  any  preparation?  Or  would  be  indifferent  as 
to  whether  the  scholars  knew  or  did  not  know  the  book 
they  studied?  Or  would  not  care  whether  they  at- 
tended school  or  not?  Or  would  never  review  them 
to  find  out  whether  they  understood  those  things  and 
principles  which  in  after  life  were  to  be  used  to  win  a 
livelihood  or  enable  them  to  play  a  splendid  part  in  the 
world?  Or  would  never  try  to  inspire  them  to  master 
the  knowledge  offered? 

On  the  other  side,  what  parents  are  willing  to  keep 
the  children  home  on  any  pretext  from  the  day  school? 
Curious  that  the  children  can  face  any  kind  of  weather 
to  be  at  the  day  school,  whilst  the  least  rain  is  reason 
enough  on  Sunday  to  keep  them  at  home.  Or  what 
parents  are  really  concerned  that  their  children  are 
securing  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  so  that  their  lives 

226 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  227 

may  be  guided  by  its  precepts? 

The  children  themselves  are  often  most  indififerent, 
because  the  Sunday  school  does  not  appear  to  them 
to  offer  anything  that  repays  them  for  coming.  There 
is  pleasant' music.  Friends  attract.  The  teachers  are 
winning.  But  the  real  purpose  of  the  Sunday  school, 
to  give  a  knowledge  of  God's  word,  as  desirable  and 
necessary  for  the  welfare  of  all  their  life,  is  not  per- 
ceived by  them  definitely. 

Perhaps  one  great  cause  of  this  lies  in  the  over- 
emphasis of  one  noble  idea  that  has  possessed  all 
Sunday  school  workers.  The  idea  that  the  object  of 
the  Sunday  school  is  to  bring  the  scholars  to  decide 
for  Jesus  Christ.  Now  no  one  would  lessen  the  effort 
to  accomplish  this,  but,  underneath  this  object  is  the 
religious  education  of  the  scholar,  an  education  which 
precedes  the  decision,  an  education  which  follows  the 
decision.  Before  the  decision  is  made,  instruction  in 
Bible  truth  should  make  clear  what  is  involved  in  that 
decision,  what  kind  of  a  choice  is  being  made,  what 
kind  of  service  Jesus  requires,  what  kind  of  a  person 
Jesus  is,  and  what  faith  really  means ;  in  short,  some 
knowledge  of  what  the  doctrines  of  salvation  are. 
After  the  decision  is  made,  instruction  in  the  Bible 
should  be  so  enlarged  that  its  precepts  and  prin- 
ciples to  be  applied  to  life  should  be  plain ;  that  the 
duties  of  a  Christian,  individually,  socially,  as  a  church 
member,  should  be  made  known ;  that  the  means  by 
which  the  life  of  fellowship  with  God  are  maintained 
should  be  set  forth.  All  these  directions  are  in  the 
Bible,  enforced  by  example  of  men  and  women  who 
succeeded  or  failed,  by  the  great  movements  in  the 
history  of  God's  people,  by  the  plain  precepts  or  fre- 
quent prophetical  sayings;  above  all.  by  the  life  and 
words  of  Jesus  Himself.  For  the  complete  Christian 
a  full  knowledge  of  the  Bible  is  required,  or  he  will 
be  more  or  less  imperfect  as  his  knowledge  is  more 
or  less  imperfect. 


228  LIFE   AND    WORKS   OF    CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

We  need,  therefore,  a  broader  idea  of  religious  edu- 
cation, as  the  object  of  the  Sunday  school,  an  educa- 
tion which  includes  decision,  but  one  which  would 
thoroughly  furnish  every  scholar  unto  every  good 
work,  and  to  a  well-rounded  Christlike  life  in  service 
and  character. 

If  the  teacher  could  realize  this  broader  conception, 
then  teaching  would  become  serious,  desirable  and 
necessary.  It  would  be  serious  because  of  its  high 
aim,  namely,  to  lead  the  scholars  to  the  very  noblest 
life  possible,  a  good  life,  a  Hfe  of  righteousness  and 
service  for  Christ.  It  would  be  serious,  because  there 
would  be  realization  that  the  truths  taught,  being  so 
far-reaching,  must  be  carefully  taught,  and  great  care 
must  be  observed  that  no  erroneous  doctrines  or 
plausible  half-truths  be  given  the  scholars,  to  their 
unspeakable  harm.  It  would  be  serious,  as  the  work 
of  the  day  teacher  is  serious,  not  somber,  but  joyful, 
because  it  is  so  great  and  so  noble,  fitting  the  scholars 
for  the  future. 

It  would  be  desirable,  because  there  is  nothing  to 
be  desired  so  greatly  as  to  lead  another  to  see  the 
beauty,  the  truth,  the  joy  we  see.  That  is  the  teacher's 
delight  in  any  school  or  profession.  It  would  be  de- 
sirable, because  we  know  what  we  teach  will  never 
bring  sorrow  or  ruin,  but  peace,  joy,  helpfulness,  the 
beauty  of  the  Lord  God  to  those  we  teach. 

It  would  be  necessary,  because  the  salvation  of  the 
scholar  depends  upon  seeing  the  truths  as  they  are  in 
Christ,  because  his  future  worth  and  usefulness  will 
depend  upon  his  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  and  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  when  such  ideas  of 
the  seriousness,  desirability  and  necessity  of  the  Sun- 
day school  guide  pastor,  superintendent  and  teachers, 
that  the  whole  school  will  come,  more  or  less,  to  be 
governed  by  the  same  principles.  Sunday  school  will 
cease  to  be  merely  a  pleasant  place  to  spend  an  hour 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  229 

or  meet  the  others  in  the  class,  or  be  attended  to  please 
the  teacher,  but  there  will  be  a  perception  that  the 
purpose  is  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  that  word  whicli 
fits  men  and  women  for  life,  and  to  gain  a  just  idea  of 
the  Saviour  and  what  He  wants  His  disciples  to  do 


( 


IS  ONE-TRUTH  TEACHING  IDEAL? 

In  a  couple  of  brilliant  articles  on  Sunday  school 
teaching,  recently  read,  great  stress  was  laid  on  select- 
ing one  truth  of  the  lesson  that  should  be  central,  and 
which  should  be  driven  home  at  all  cost. 

Men's  minds  and  their  ways  of  looking  at  things 
differ.  It  may  be  that  this  is  best  for  many.  But  we 
seriously  question  whether  this  is  the  best.  This  kind 
of  teaching  is  topical,  a  theme  or  thought  being  taken 
which  is  made  prominent  by  sacrificing  the  other  truths 
that  are  in  the  passage  selected.  There  is  another 
kind  of  teaching  that  seeks  to  unfold  the  portion  of 
God's  word  under  survey  in  its  entirety  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, and  believes  that  in  this  way  a  better,  because 
larger,  knowledge  of  God's  word  is  gained,  to  the 
richer  instruction  of  the  class.  The  first  method  is 
brilliant  and  often  effective.  The  second  is  not  so 
striking,  but  opens  the  whole  Scripture  and  stores  it 
in  the  mind  and  heart  for  future  use. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  secrets  of  the  lamentable  lack  of 
knowledge  of  God's  word  to-day  is  due  to  an  over-em.- 
phasis  of  the  first  method,  which  has  its  rightful  place 
and  can  be  used  at  times.  It  is  bound,  where  followed 
exclusively,  to  slur  over  large  portions  of  God's  word 
in  its  effort  to  drive  home  a  particular  truth  that  has 
appealed  to  the  teacher.  Every  such  teacher  becomes 
a  sermonizer  rather  than  an  educator.  He  does  not 
seek  to  find  out  where  the  scholar's  mind  and  the 
Scriptures  meet  on  common  ground  and  proceed  from 
that  to  develop  and  cause  the  scholar  to  understand 
the  larger  truths.  The  tendency  is  to  superficial 
knowledge  of  the  passage  and  not  to  its  comprehen- 
sive and  particular  knowledge.  The  scholar  gets  a 
distinct  impression  sometimes  of  one  moral  or  re- 
ligious truth  to  the  exclusion  of  other  truths.  Oft- 
times  he  gets  not  even  this,  because  he  is  unprepared 

230 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  231 

to  receive  the  truth  so  ably  and  earnestly  proclaimed, 
no  common  ground  of  truth  already  known  by  him 
having  been  secured  from  which  to  advance  to  the  new 
truth  presented. 

There  is,  I  fear,  on  the  part  of  many,  too  little  con- 
fidence in  the  Scriptures  themselves.  These  earnest 
teachers  are  sometimes  impressed  that  they  are  the 
power  to  move,  and  they  must  make  the  truth  live  by 
their  own  wit,  shrewdness,  learning,  illustration  and 
fervor.  These  things  have  their  place,  but,  if  they  are 
out  of  place,  they  work  ofttimes  more  harm  than  good. 
The  human  is  thrust  to  the  front,  the  divine  is  rele- 
gated to  the  background. 

We  ought  to  see  that  the  Bible  is  living,  that  there 
is  in  it  a  divine  energy  that  makes  it  a  means  to  bring 
God's  grace  to  the  heart.  The  Bible  is  not  a  dead  book. 
'Tts  inspiration  is  not  something  lying  far  back  in 
distant  centuries  when  its  diflferent  parts  were  first 
written.  It  is  a  fact  in  the  present  tense !  It  is  a 
force  aflfecting  the  readers  of  to-day  as  well  as  the 
writers  of  yesterday.  For  the  man  who  reads  it  with 
believing  eyes  the  Bible  is  still  flooded  from  cover  to 
cover  with  inspiration.  It  thrills  in  every  syllable  with 
more  than  elemental  forces;  forces  which  penetrate  to 
the  heart  of  the  reader  and  stir  all  its  deeper  emotions 
as  the  moon  stirs  the  sea  tides."  "The  words  that  I 
speak  unto  you,"  said  Jesus,  "they  are  spirit  and  they 
are  life."  "Sanctify  them  through  Thy  truth ;  Thy 
word  is  truth."  What  w^e  want  to  do  is  to  get  before 
the  scholars  the  Scriptures,  to  get  behind  them,  not  in 
front  of  them,  to  make  clear  from  their  standpoint, 
the  truths  that  are  in  them ;  these  first,  and  our  own 
brilliancy  and  wisdom  second,  and  then  only  in  all 
humility,  to  be  used  and  blessed  by  God's  Holy  Spirit. 

It  does  not  make  any  diflference  whether  the  results 
are  immediate  or  not.  Much  that  is  best  must  have 
time  for  growth.  Many  of  the  best  girls  and  boys 
mature  slowly.     Hothouse  culture  often  unfits  them 


232  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

for  the  days  when  they  must  live  out  in  the  open.  Get 
into  the  heart  and  mind  the  Scripture  truths,  the  gos- 
pel, the  Christ,  and  the  Lord  will  see  to  it  that  in  due 
time  you  will  get  abiding  results. 

Besides,  when  you  unfold  the  whole  lesson,  not 
mechanically,  but  in  a  living  way,  I  know  nothing  that 
is  more  interesting  as  well  as  helpful.  One  gets  very 
tired  of  set  themes  when  they  are  served  up  Sunday 
after  Sunday.  But  if  you  set  yourself  to  making  clear, 
as  in  these  lessons  of  John,  what  Jesus  meant  to  teach 
and  how  He  taught  them,  or,  how  John  saw  the  mean- 
ing of  what  Jesus  said  and  did,  there  is  a  fascination 
which  all  human  presentation  cannot  attain  unto. 
"What  was  it  Jesus  wanted  to  do?  What  did  He 
say  ?"  This  has  far  more  chance  of  reaching  the  heart 
than  anything  else. 

Now,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  when  you  have  gone 
carefully  over  the  passage,  that  you  are  not  to  say, 
"The  lesson  that  impresses  me  most  is  this,  and  for 
this  reason."  That  would  be  all  right  and  be  most  ef- 
fective. But  it  might  be  more  helpful,  if  you  could  get 
a  response,  to  ask  of  your  scholars,  "What  is  the  lesson 
that  impresses  you  most?"  for  that  would  develop 
their  thought. 

Above  all,  do  not  think  because  you  have  not  been 
able  to  drive  a  nail  of  particular  truth  with  mighty 
blows  home  to  the  heart,  that  your  labor  of  teaching 
has  been  wasted.  If  you  have  interested  them  in  the 
Scripture  itself,  the  living  word  will  be  powerful.  Be- 
hind the  careless  faces  of  youth  is  the  tender  con- 
science, the  fresh,  unspoiled  nature,  the  retentive  mem- 
ory, and  you  can  leave  God's  word,  God's  means  of 
grace,  through  which  the  Spirit  works,  to  awaken  this 
conscience,  to  lay  hold  on  this  freshness  of  nature; 
perhaps  at  once,  perhaps  later  when  the  hour  of  de- 
cision or  opportunity  comes  that  gives  memory  the 
chance  to  bring  back  the  truth  that  enlightens,  quick- 
ens and  saves. 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST 

The  Apostle  claims  in  these  words  that  Christ  con- 
trolled Himself  by  a  law,  which  He  implicitly  obeyed. 
He  still  further  demanded  that  every  follower  of 
Christ  must  fulfill  the  same  law  to  be  worthy  of  the 
name.  Therefore,  we  ask,  what  was  "the  law  of 
Christ"  ?  The  answer  is,  "Bear  ye  one  another's  bur- 
dens and  so  fulfill  the  law  of  Christ." 

The  law  was  essential  to  Christ,  of  the  very  essence 
of  His  being,  without  which  He  could  neither  be  Him- 
self, nor  accomplish  His  work.  On  His  human  side, 
without  fulfilling  this  law,  He  never  could  have  per- 
fected Himself  to  be  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  never 
have  fulfilled  the  purpose  of  God  with  Him  as  Son. 

His  whole  life  was  one  of  burden-bearing.  The 
Gospels  are  full  of  the  gracious  examples  of  His  fidel- 
ity to  this  law.  They  brought  to  Him  their  sick  and 
diseased  and  He  healed  them.  They  brought  to  Him 
their  troubles  and  sorrows  and  He  took  them  upon 
Himself.  They  came  to  Him  with  their  doubts,  with 
their  desires  for  the  truth,  and  He  answered  the  one 
and  satisfied  the  other.  Above  all.  He  took  upon  Him- 
self the  burden  of  our  transgressions,  as  St.  Peter  so 
strongly  puts  it,  "Who  His  own  self  bare  our  sins  in 
His  own  body  on  the  tree,  that  we,  being  dead  to  sins, 
should  live  unto  righteousness." 

In  fulfilling  this  law  of  burden-bearing.  He  did  so  at 
cost  to  Himself.  When  the  woman  touched  His  gar- 
ment secretly,  He  said,  "I  perceive  that  virtue  has 
gone  out  of  me."  There  was  an  output  of  power, 
which  told  upon  His  strength  in  every  miracle  He  did. 
Oft  worn  and  weary  from  a  day's  healing  and  teach- 
ing. He  sought  the  seclusion  of  the  mountain  side,  or 
of  the  lonely  desert,  that  He  might  rest  and  refresh 
Himself  by  prayer  unto  the  Father,  so  that  He  might 

233 


234  LIFE    AND    WORKS   OF    CHARLES    S.    ALBERT 

return  renewed  in  strength  to  His  burden-bearing. 

What  it  cost  Him  to  bear  the  burden  of  our  sins 
upon  the  cross — only  when  we  can  comprehend  the 
suffering,  shame  and  misery  of  the  cross,  will  we  un- 
derstand that  cost!  When  God  made  the  world  He 
spake  the  word  and  the  world  stood.  When  God 
would  redeem  sinful  men,  it  cost  His  Son  suffering 
and  shame  unutterable.  For  physical  power  can  never 
equal  the  energy  of  love.  Righteousness  is  the  inner 
nature  of  God ;  love  of  Himself ;  the  making  of  a 
world  is  but  as  a  very  little  thing  to  His  omnipotence. 

It  is  remarkable  how  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life,  to 
be  done  well,  must  be  controlled  by  abiding  laws.  It 
is  a  little  thing  to  guide  a  shipload  of  oil  across  the 
Atlantic,  but  it  must  be  done  by  the  compass,  the  needle 
of  which  is  controlled  by  the  abiding  law  of  the  mag- 
netic curents  of  the  earth.  Nothing  less  than  this  great 
law  will  suffice  to  ensure  safety  and  direction.  Even 
so,  the  ordinary  acts  and  duties  of  life  to  be  done 
surely  and  wisely  must  be  controlled  by  abiding  prin- 
ciples. 

Every  man  realizes  that  as  he  comes  into  larger 
manhood,  there  arises  a  demand  upon  him  to  bear  the 
burdens  of  others.  One  never  knew  a  large-hearted 
business  man  upon  whom  did  not  come  the  financial 
troubles  of  others.  They  seek  his  advice.  They  lay 
upon  him  their  affairs.  He  is  their  burden-bearer. 
The  elevation  of  a  competent  man  to  a  high  office  in 
the  community  brings  to  him  the  burdens  of  the  peo- 
ple. For  them  he  must  think  and  toil.  He  must  pro- 
tect them  from  iniquity  and  oppression  and  justly  ad- 
minister the  laws.  In  other  spheres  it  is  so  ;  the  parents 
are  the  burden-bearers  of  the  children ;  the  teacher, 
of  the  ignorant ;  the  minister,  of  the  congregation. 

In  our  work  as  Sunday  school  teachers  the  same 
law  holds  good.  At  first  with  enthusiasm  the  labor 
may  be  undertaken,  but,  in  a  little  while,  it  is  soon 
evident  that  it  is  burden-bearing.     The  scholars  lay 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  235 

upon  us  their  doubts,  struggles,  willfulness,  shortcom- 
ings, desires  for  truth,  and  we  must  bear  them.  The 
work  wearies,  for  burden-bearing  takes  "the  virtue" 
out  of  us  also. 

It  is  possible  to  shirk  the  law  of  burden-bearing. 
Men  do  it  everywhere.  They  never  do  it  without  loss. 
For  to  become  Christlike  one  must  obey  the  law  of 
Christ,  "Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens."  They  flee 
the  law  and  become  selfish,  unlike  Christ. 

Into  these  ordinary  things  we  must  bring  for  guid- 
ance and  inspiration  the  abiding  law  of  Christ.  In 
our  hours  of  depression  and  weariness,  let  us  recall 
His  law.  It  is  His  way  in  which  we  must  walk.  We 
cannot  be  His  and  desert  our  posts,  fling  away  our 
burdens.  As  loyal  followers,  we  must  mold  our  doing 
by  His  great  law. 

Nor  must  we  overlook  that  Christlike  character  can 
be  formed  in  no  other  way.  If  we  are  to  realize  our- 
selves nobly,  righteously,  we  must  bear  the  burden  of 
others.  As  we  bear  them  we  grow  stronger,  we  learn 
to  know  Him  better,  we  gather  the  sweetest  and  most 
satisfying  rewards.  Life  not  only  strengthens,  but 
nobly  accomplishes  God's  purposes,  becomes  as  sun- 
shine in  this  dark  world,  and  makes  us  fit  to  enter  with 
Christ  into  His  glory,  where  life's  burden-bearing  shall 
be  ended. 


HIDDEN  BUT  LIVING 

Men  are  impatient  for  results,  so  impatient  that 
when  they  do  not  immediately  obtain  them,  they  de- 
spair and  cease  to  labor  for  them.  The  best  of 
things  are  of  slow  growth.  A  mushroom  grows  up 
in  a  night,  but  it  is  a  mushroom  and  soon  perishes. 
The  oak  germinates  slowly,  takes  years  to  gather  to 
itself  girth  and  size,  but  it  is  an  oak,  strong  and 
sturdy,  defying  the  storm.  Character  is  slowly 
evolved.  The  years  go  into  the  making  of  it.  We 
ought  not  to  be  impatient  and  dissatisfied  if  we  do  not 
succeed  in  developing  at  once  the  character  of  those 
taught. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  often  men  who  have  been 
growing  up  to  a  truth  by  years  of  God's  training  are 
impatient,  because  others  do  not  see  it  immediately  as 
they  do.  As  well  ask  a  little  child  to  look  over  a  high 
fence  just  equal  to  your  stature,  which  came  to  you 
by  years  of  growth. 

Indeed  a  well-grounded  suspicion  ever  attaches  to 
the  character  that  is  speedily  realized.  Involuntarily 
we  think  will  it  stand  the  day  of  testing?  Self-com- 
placent, but  untried,  Peter  went  down  before  the  as- 
sault of  Satan  to  his  shame,  but  to  his  blessed  realiza- 
tion of  self  and  of  the  forgiving  Christ.  There  should 
be  no  surprise  that  many  children,  shielded  and  nur- 
tured carefully,  go  down  oft  in  the  early  manhood 
when  fiercely  tested  by  the  temptations  of  active  life, 
of  which  they  had  heard  but  knew  not  the  strength. 
They  were  innocent,  but  it  was  the  innocence  of  the 
untried,  not  the  sinlessness  of  those  who,  tried,  gave 
not  place  to  the  tempter. 

The  question  comes  to  the  active  worker,  whether 
labor  spent  upon  those  who  fall  has  been  in  vain.  De- 
cidedly not.    The  vitality  of  truth  is  remarkable.    The 

236 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  237 

seed  that  has  hfe  often  lies  dormant  under  winter's 
cold,  but  given  the  balmy  sunshine  and  the  penetrating 
rains,  the  warm  earth,  it  shoots  forth,  and,  as  though 
the  dead  had  come  to  life,  appears  in  glory  of  flower 
and  fruit.  Truth  may  be  hidden  for  a  season,  but  it 
is  still  living. 

Some  time  ago  a  number  of  men  who  had  led  the 
worst  of  lives,  men  who  had  apparently  lost  manhood, 
had  been  tramps  and  drunkards,  gave  the  story  of 
their  rescue.  Devoted  Christians  had  toiled  with  them, 
given  them  home  and  work,  set  before  them,  with 
word  and  prayer  and  song,  God's  mercy  for  the  sinner, 
and  rescued  them  from  sin,  and  brought  them  to  accept 
Christ.  The  remarkable  truth,  however,  in  the  testi- 
mony of  these  men,  was  that  every  one  of  them  had  re- 
ceived good  religious  training  at  home  or  in  church  and 
Sunday  school.  The  seeds  of  truth  had  been  hidden, 
but  not  dead,  and  when  the  favorable  opportunity  came, 
had  shown  their  vitality  and  had  come  to  fruitage. 

An  observant  writer  declares  that  a  community  is 
often  startled  by  the  sudden  conversion  of  a  notori- 
ously wicked  man.  If,  however,  they  would  trace  back 
the  'man's  life,  they  would  find  somewhere  in  child- 
hood there  had  been  gracious  seed-sowing.  There 
would  be  the  remembrance  of  a  mother  praying  with 
tears  for  her  boy;  a  father  seeking  by  example  and 
precept  to  bring  his  son  to  God,  or  a  Sunday  school 
teacher  who,  with  deep  desire  for  this  scholar's  salva- 
tion, had  implanted  the  truths  of  God.  The  conver- 
sion flames  out  suddenly,  but  the  spark  of  that  flame 
was  kindled  in  the  bygone  youth. 

Many  of  us  can  recall,  if  we  but  take  the  trouble, 
that  the  truths  that  are  guiding  our  lives  were  instilled 
vears  ago.  Personally  I  find  myself  in  many  directions 
influenced  by  the  example  and  words  of  a  godly  father, 
whose  life  was  beautiful  in  simple  devotion  to  the 
Lord  and  deep  understanding  of  the  personal  truths 
of  life  in  Christ. 


238  LIFE   AND    WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

On  the  other  hand,  those  who  have  labored  much 
with  adults  who  have  whilst  young  acquired  but  little 
knowledge  of  God's  word,  or  the  ordinary  truths  of 
Christian  life,  have  found  the  greatest  difficulty  to  in- 
fluence them  toward  Christ's  kingdom.  There  is  so 
little  in  common.  Much  time  must  be  spent  in  incul- 
cating the  first  principles  of  Christian  knowledge, 
which  are  realized  but  slowly.  Old  habits  of  thought 
are  deeply  imbedded,  and  yield  slowly  to  that  which 
is  better.  A  few  of  these  respond,  but  for  the  most 
part  effort  is  thrown  away. 

In  the  face  of  these  facts,  let  us  not  be  discouraged 
if  results  come  slowly.  If  the  work  does  not  at  once 
return  fruitage,  the  seed-sowing  is  not  in  vain.  In 
the  years  to  come,  after  bitter  experience  of  sin,  the 
truth  sown  and  hidden  may  assert  its  life,  and  the 
soul  be  begotten  unto  life.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Chris- 
tian worker  to  sow  the  seed — God  giveth  the  increase. 
Patiently  bide  His  time.  Eternity  alone  will  disclose 
the  results  that  the  faithful  teaching  of  God's  word 
made  possible. 


THE  TEACHER'S  PREPARATION 

It  is  a  good  thing  to  have  a  good  purpose.  In  this 
life,  however,  purpose  alone  will  not  accomplish  the 
end  desired,  unless  a  man  be  prepared  for  the  purpose. 
Study  and  drill  precede  purpose  performed.  A  pur- 
pose to  be  a  musician  is  worth  nothing  without  the 
steady  drill  that  makes  the  fingers  or  the  voice  obe- 
dient to  the  spirit  of  harmony  in  the  soul. 

The  Lord  was  not  satisfied  to  call  out  in  men  the 
purpose  to  serve  Him,  but  He  prepared  them  to  carry 
out  the  purpose.  He  sent  Moses  to  the  desert  for 
forty  years,  John  the  Baptist  to  the  wilderness.  He 
Himself,  when  they  purposed  to  be  fishers  of  men, 
trained  the  apostles  for  three  years  to  fit  them  for 
their  office.  Nor  can  anyone  say  how  deep  was  their 
study  of  the  law  and  the  prophets  in  conjunction  with 
His  teachings  and  life,  after  His  death,  which  made 
their  work  efifective  and  opened  their  minds  to  the 
teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  until  they  were  able  to 
give  us  Gospels  and  Epistles.  I  think  they  prepared 
themselves  more  than  once  for  sermon  and  teaching 
as  diligently,  and  more  so,  than  we  do  now. 

The  teacher  must  prepare  to  do  his  work  well.  His 
head  and  his  heart  need  preparation.  In  spiritual 
work,  the  head  has  its  part  as  well  as  the  heart.  There 
is  a  sanctified  intellect  as  well  as  a  sanctified  afifec- 
tion.  The  mind  of  God  is  everywhere  manifest  as  well 
as  His  love.  Christ  spake  as  never  man  spake,  as  well 
as  loved  as  never  man  loved. 

The  teacher  should  thoughtfully  study  the  lesson 
first  without  any  help  whatever.  He  should  try  to 
bring  out  of  it  all  that  he  can  in  his  own  study.  He 
should  read  what  goes  before  and  what  comes  after, 
that  he  may  know  just  how  the  events  and  teachings 
came  to  pass.    He  should  reflect  upon  the  words  until 

239 


240  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES   S.   ALBERT 

to  him  there  comes  something  for  himself  and  class. 

He  should  next  take  up  his  lesson  helps  for  larger 
knowledge  and  doctrine.  The  first  study  will  give 
individuality,  the  second  breadth  and  connection  of 
views  and  ideas.  His  own  Lutheran  helps  should  be 
first  with  a  Lutheran.  In  a  measure  he  is  a  sub- 
pastor,  set  by  his  church  to  teach  the  scholars  of  his 
Church  the  way  of  salvation  as  taught  by  his  Church. 
He  has  no  more  business  to  be  teaching  the  views 
of  another  church  than  his  pastor  has  to  use  his 
pulpit  to  teach  his  flock  the  doctrines  of  another  de- 
nomination. Therefore,  he  will  want  to  know  what 
his  Church  teaches,  and  that  he  will  get  in  the  lesson 
helps  of  his  own  Church.  He  may  use  with  them 
other  helps  and  gain  the  additional  light  and  knowl- 
edge they  furnish,  but  the  use  of  his  own  helps  will 
help  him  to  avoid  their  errors  and  use  those  things 
which  will  harmonize  with  his  own  faith. 

After  this  let  him  study  the  lesson  with  reference 
to  his  own  class,  taking  out  of  it  those  practical  points 
which  the  class,  as  he  knows  it  by  contact  and  obser- 
vation, will  need.  He  will  also  ponder  how  he  may 
best  do  this.  The  how  of  putting  truth  is  essential,  as 
well  as  the  truth  itself.  The  how  of  putting  truth  in 
Christ  is  as  exquisite  as  the  truth  itself. 

If  a  teacher  will  make  such  preparation  his  head 
will  be  thoroughly  prepared.  As  he  thus  studies,  he 
will  come  to  see  his  weakness  and  ignorance,  and  it 
will  lead  him  to  heart  preparation.  He  will  cry  unto 
God,  who  has  honored  him  by  giving  to  him  so  noble 
an  ofiice,  to  help  him  understand  and  give  him  wisdom 
to  discern  the  truth  and  how  to  teach  it. 

He  will  also  perceive  that  his  own  heart  must  be 
given  to  the  Lord.  Without  such  surrender  he  may 
teach  some  truth,  but  the  better  and  higher  truths, 
which  are  spiritually  discerned,  he  neither  perceives 
nor  can  he  communicate  to  others.  He  will  seek  fel- 
lowship with  the  Lord,  that  out  from  His  presence 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  241 

he  may  come  with  knowledge  of  Him  and  of  the  ex- 
ceeding greatness  of  His  love,  grace  and  truth. 

He  will  find,  also,  that  he  cannot  bear  the  trials 
upon  his  patience  made  by  his  scholars,  be  devoted  to 
their  spiritual  well  being,  be  filled  with  joyous  hope 
in  his  message  and  conviction  that  his  work  will  surely 
not  return  unto  him  void,  unless  his  heart,  fixed  upon 
the  Lord,  glows  with  faith  and  love. 

Again,  experience  will  teach  him  that  he  must  first 
answer  the  Lord's  question,  "Lovest  thou  me?"  ere 
he  is  really  worthy  to  receive  the  command.  "Feed  my 
lambs."  Love  must  be  in  him  for  the  truth,  for  the 
scholars,  so  that  the  truth  will  ring  with  sincerity 
and  the  scholar  will  feel  that  because  he  is  loved  this 
truth  is  brought  to  him  as  the  best  treasure  his  loving 
friend  and  teacher  can  give  him.  Back  of  it,  too,  shall 
be  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  always  given 
to  those  who  obey  the  Lord. 

And  this  will  lead  him  to  see  that  there  cannot  be 
the  fullest  heart  preparation  without  a  life  devoted  to 
Christ.  In  trust  and  obedience  he  will  learn  the  cer- 
tainties of  what  Jesus  says,  his  salvation,  goodness, 
comfort,  love,  the  joy  of  righteousness,  the  worth 
of  living  for  God,  and  out  of  this  his  words  shall  be 
words  of  conviction  and  power.  His  heart  shall  be  in 
these  ways  prepared.  With  head  and  heart  thus  pre- 
pared, none  may  estimate  what  a  teacher  may  accom- 
plish in  the  noble  work  he  has  received  from  the  Mas- 
ter. Time  will  reveal  some  of  the  results ;  eternity 
alone  disclose  them. 


THE  UNSUNG  POEM 

There  is  a  feeling  of  disappointment  with  many  that 
they  never  reaHze  their  aspirations.  Life  seems  a  fail- 
ure. "The  good  of  which  I  dreamed,  the  nobility  of 
life  I  longed  for,  the  lofty  purpose  I  held,  all  these  I 
have  not  realized,"  they  say  sorrowfully.  But  there  is 
another  side.  The  better  desires  have  made  life  nobler 
and  richer  by  their  presence.  The  men  are  greater  be- 
cause of  them,  higher  in  the  scale. 

Says  Boyesen :  'T  know  a  middle-aged  engineer, 
now  far  past  the  meridian,  who  has  been  walking 
about  for  twenty  years  with  an  immortal  epic  in  his 
brain,  and  will  be  walking  about  with  it  till  the  day 
when  he  will  be  confined  within  a  narrow  rosewood 
box,  from  which  no  epic,  even  if  ever  so  immortal, 
can  escape.  But  I  verily  believe  that  that  epic  (which, 
on  account  of  family  necessities,  he  never  will  get  a 
chance  to  write)  has  benefited  its  author  more  than  it 
ever  would  have  done  if  it  had  appeared  in  cold  print. 
It  has  redeemed  his  life  from  the  commonplace.  It 
has  given  him  the  precious  feeling  of  being  excep- 
tional, of  being  something  more  than  the  world  gave 
him  credit  for  being;  and,  finally,  it  has  lifted  his  ex- 
istence to  a  higher  plane  by  giving  him  sympathy  with 
lofty  though  futile  endeavor." 

How  true  are  these  words !  There  are  many  who 
redeem  their  lives  from  the  commonplace  and  gather 
strength  to  resist  the  crushing  burdens  of  life  from 
some  noble,  but  unrealized  ideal. 

Indeed,  there  are  those  whose  purpose  of  achieve- 
ment has  bettered  their  daily  life,  for  they  knew  that 
out  of  an  unworthy  life  their  great  achievement  could 
never  come.  The  words  of  Milton  are  memorable : 
"And  long  it  was  not  after  when  I  was  confirmed  in 
this  opinion,  that  he  who  would  not  be  frustrate  of  his 

242 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  243 

hope  to  write  well  hereafter  in  laudable  things,  ought 
himself  to  be  a  true  poem;  that  is,  a  composition  and 
pattern  of  the  best  and  honorablest  things;  not  pre- 
suming to  sing  high  praises  of  heroic  men  or  famous 
cities  unless  he  have  in  himself  the  experience  and  the 
practice  of  all  that  is  praiseworthy." 

There  are  many  who  have  placed  before  them  noble 
lives.  The  Sunday  school  teacher  plans  to  win  many 
to  Christ  and  be  strongly  helpful  in  building  the  char- 
acter of  others  into  complete  likeness  to  Christ.  Others 
outline  unselfish  endeavor  for  the  poor,  the  sick,  the 
stranger,  the  home-circle,  the  associates  of  church  and 
daily  life.  But  how  keen  are  the  disappointments,  not 
alone  that  the  efforts  bring  so  little  result,  but  that 
the  doing  is  so  poorly  done. 

After  all.  the  desire  for  such  noble  deeds  is  helping 
one's  own  life.  When  the  painter  strives  to  place  on 
the  canvas  the  picture  of  beauty,  or  the  vision  of  the 
tragic,  pathetic,  or  heroic,  he  paints  within  his  own 
soul  a  fairer  picture.  There  is  realized  the  beauty, 
the  truth,  the  heroism  he  portrays  without.  The  truest 
work  is  within,  not  without.  The  picture  is  the  re- 
flection in  the  mirror,  the  soul  wrought  out  in  such 
work  the  living  form  that  is  reflected  by  the  mirror. 

The  striving  after  goodness,  the  effort  to  do  good, 
is  not  measured  alone  by  what  is  accomplished,  but 
also  by  the  influence  upon  the  life,  which  in  such 
atmosphere  of  heroic  and  Christlike  endeavor,  becomes 
Christlike,  a  joy  unto  the  Lord. 

Probably  there  is  nothing  so  troubles  the  conscien- 
tious as  their  imperfect  realization  of  the  Christ  they 
follow.  A  sin  gives  them  keen  sorrow,  but  the  one  sin 
is  little,  in  their  thoughtful  moments,  in  comparison 
with  the  failure  to  reach  the  life  they  know  ought  to 
be  theirs.  They  cannot  be  uplifted  in  their  own  right- 
eousness, however  it  may  be  commended  by  others, 
for  they  are  so  far  from  Christ's  righteousness. 

Yet,  is  not  this  their  salvation?     Does  it  not  keep 


244  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

them  out  of  commonplace  goodness  which  satis- 
fies the  unthinking?  Does  it  not  prevent  self-right- 
eousness, the  guilt  of  Pharisaism,  in  whose  evil  atmos- 
phere the  finer  virtues  die,  and  love  to  God  is  set  aside 
for  love  of  self  ? 

There  is  another  characteristic  of  faith  in  Christ 
that  ought  not  to  be  overlooked.  He  that  has  learned 
the  truth  in  Jesus  has  found  a  center  around  which 
his  whole  life  revolves.  There  is  no  part  of  him,  no 
activity,  no  result,  which  does  not  center  in  Him.  His 
treatment  of  the  body,  his  afifections,  his  moral  nature, 
his  studies,  his  will,  his  heart,  are  all  centralized  in 
Christ.  "The  Intellect  says,  'Lord,  teach  me';  the 
Heart  brings  its  tribute  of  loyalty  and  love ;  the  Will, 
with  bowed  head,  echoes  the  first  Christian  question, 
'What  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do?'  Sorrow  seeks  for 
comfort.  Faith  for  a  resting-place,  Hope  for  an  as- 
surance in  the  Immanuel,  the  visible  Deity,  who  came 
to  save  our  race." 

It  is  just  this  which  makes  it  so  difficult  to  realize 
our  faith,  for  it  dominates  the  whole  of  our  life.  The 
true  Christian  knows  he  must  apply  its  principles  to 
his  business,  however  hard  it  may  seem  to  reconcile 
them  with  the  hard,  grasping,  pushing  laws  of  trade. 
His  social  life  must  be  in  subjection  to  the  truth  in 
Christ,  no  matter  how  society  formulates  its  amuse- 
ments and  rules. 

He  fails,  to  his  shame,  to  be  what  he  knows  he  ought 
to  be.  Yet,  as  he  keeps  Christ  before  him,  the  unsung 
poem  of  life  is  more  and  more  realized.  He  is  lifted 
into  the  finer  harmonies  of  truth  and  nobility  of  life, 
and  saved  from  the  dull,  disappointing  prose  of  the 
world,  which  brings  sadness,  then  despair  that  oft 
seeks  relief  in  self-inflicted  death.  He,  looking  unto 
Christ,  cries,  "I  have  not  attained,"  but  those  around 
him  know  the  loveliness  of  the  life  which,  though  not 
perfect,  is  as  a  poem  full  of  the  charm  and  harmony 
of  life  lived  with  God. 


UPLIFT  IN  OUR  WORK 

When  a  work  is  begun  there  is  the  charm  of  novelty. 
For  awhile  it  is  continued  with  zest,  but  after  it  has 
lost  its  novelty  it  grows  wearisome.  The  young  bride, 
who  enters  into  her  new  home  filled  with  dainty  re- 
membrances of  her  friends,  rejoices  in  her  owner- 
ship and  thinks  she  will  never  tire  in  her  care  of  her 
home.  But  after  awhile  she  is  oppressed  with  the  in- 
sistent demands  incident  to  the  life  of  the  housewife, 
the  constant  recurrence  of  the  same  trivial  things,  the 
cleaning,  the  sweeping,  the  dusting,  the  cooking,  and 
the  like.  The  novelty  goes,  the  drudgery  remains. 
And  then,  too  oft,  the  petty  round  ends  in  depression. 
Yet  there  is  escape  from  the  depression.  It  is  to  take 
the  commonj)lace  and  recurrent  trivialities  and  put 
them  in  the  light  of  great  thoughts.  If  they  are  looked 
upon  in  the  light  of  duty  that  must  be  done,  nuich  is 
gained.  She  that  can  say,  "This  is  the  thing-  I  ought 
to  do,"  lifts  the  common  task  out  of  triviality. 

If  to  this  is  added  the  thought  that  thus  love  can 
be  shown,  love,  that  by  the  skill  and  daintiness  of  the 
common  life,  gives  pleasure  and  comfort  to  the  loved, 
the  common  task  becomes  glorified. 

But  if,  beyond  this,  there  is  the  conviction  that  God 
has  entrusted  to  her  this  task,  insignificant  as  it  is, 
bringing  under  her  special  guardianship  this  particular 
portion  of  His  work,  the  uplift  that  will  follow  will 
carry  her  through  it  with  constant  cheer.  If  anyone 
is  sure  that  his  work  is  the  work  which  God  has  ap- 
pointed to  him,  at  once  that  work  is  dignified  and  en- 
nobled. What  God  appoints  cannot  be  common.  Out 
of  the  task  will  come  the  enrichment  of  our  own  char- 
acter and  the  betterment  of  others. 

John  Tauler,  the  mystic  preacher  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  said : 

245 


246  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.   ALBERT 

"Every  art  or  work,  however  unimportant  it  may 
seem,  is  a  gift  of  God;  and  all  these  gifts  are  be- 
stowed by  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  profit  and  welfare 
of  man.  Let  us  begin  with  the  lowest.  One  can  spin, 
another  can  make  shoes,  and  some  have  great  aptness 
for  all  sorts  of  outward  arts.  These  are  all  gifts  pro- 
ceeding from  the  Spirit  of  God.  If  I  were  not  a  priest, 
but  were  living  as  a  layman,  I  should  take  it  as  a  great 
favor  that  I  knew  how  to  make  shoes,  and  should  try 
to  make  them  better  than  anyone  else,  and  should 
gladly  earn  my  bread  by  the  labor  of  my  hands. 
There  is  no  work  so  small,  no  art  so  mean,  but  it  all 
comes  from  God,  and  is  a  special  gift  of  His.  Thus 
let  each  do  that  which  another  cannot  do  so  well,  and, 
for  love,  returning  gift  for  gift." 

There  can  be  no  question  that  many  a  Sunday  school 
teacher  finds  teaching  at  times  a  depressing  drudgery. 
It  repeats  itself  practically  Sunday  after  Sunday.  At- 
tention is  hard  to  gain.  There  is  a  constant  struggle 
to  maintain  order.  The  scholars  are  irresponsive  and 
show  little,  if  any,  growth  in  knowledge  (true  knowl- 
edge of  God)  and  character.  All  the  sacrifices  made 
seem  valueless.  Teaching  loses  its  zest  after  the  nov- 
elty has  passed,  and,  if  we  are  honest  concerning  it, 
becomes  more  or  less  of  drudgery. 

There  is  escape  from  it,  not  by  giving  up  the  task, 
but  by  uplifting  it.  This  is  done  when  we  hold  fast 
to  the  conviction  that  this  is  the  work  which  God  has 
called  us  to  do.  This  is  not  our  choosing,  but  our  call- 
ing. He  has  asked  us  to  do  this  for  Him.  The  Master 
first  gave  us  our  talents,  and  then  entrusted  this  part 
of  His  work  to  us.  When  the  work  goes  hard,  let  us 
sturdily  recall,  "This  is  my  duty,  the  thing  I  ought  to 
do,"  and  duty  will  be  our  hard-featured  friend  to  lead 
us  along  the  diflicult  places  and  take  us  over  the  hill 
of  drudgery  to  the  pleasant  places  beyond. 

Nor  is  it  the  least  to  recall  that  He  has  entrusted 
to  us  this  work.     The  apostle  speaks  of  "the  gospel 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  247 

committed  to  his  trust."  He  could  not  but  preach  it 
that  he  might  be  worthy  of  the  trust  reposed  in  him 
by  the  Master.  One  of  the  deepest  appeals  to  every 
noble  heart  is  the  appeal  of  trust.  The  engineer  dies 
at  his  post  rather  than  fail  those  who  have  entrusted 
themselves  to  his  care.  And  shall  the  Master  entrust 
these  His  little  ones  to  us  and  we  fail  to  be  true  to 
His  trust? 

Again,  we  rescue  ourselves  from  drudgery  in  our 
work  when  we  recall  His  love  for  us.  He  also  out  of 
love  lived  our  common  life  and  bore  its  burdens,  hope- 
fully and  happily.  He  also  taught  and  had  our  ex- 
periences, yet  fainted  not.  He  died  for  us  that  we 
might  live.  When,  therefore,  He  who  loved  us  gave 
us  this  work  it  must  have  been  out  of  love,  because 
it  was  best  for  us.  When  He  asks  us  to  do  this,  should 
not  His  love  uplift  us  when  the  work  grows  hard? 
Is  it  not  comfort  to  say,  "Lord,  I  do  this  for  Thee,  who 
loved  me  so  greatly,  because  Thou  desirest  it.  Give 
me  patience  and  strength"? 

The  Master  gives  us  this  work  to  do  that  we,  by 
seeking  the  salvation  of  others,  may  learn  what  He 
did  and  does  to  save,  that  we  may  know  the  gladness 
of  helping  others  to  a  larger  knowledge  of  the  king- 
dom, that  we  may  be  fitted  to  enter  into  His  joy  here- 
after. We  are  not  to  forget  that  the  servants  who 
did  His  work  entrusted  to  them  alone  entered  into  the 
joy  of  their  Lord. 

Surely  w^e  shall  escape  depression  and  drudgery  in 
our  work,  and  gain  uplift  for  our  work,  when  we  recall 
these  things :  This  is  my  calling  of  God,  this  is  the 
duty  given  me  by  Him,  this  work  of  His.  He  has  en- 
trusted to  me,  by  this  I  can  show  my  love  to  Him,  by 
such  work  I  learn  the  joy  of  saving  others  and  am 
prepared  to  enter  into  His  joy  hereafter. 


A  TIME  OF  DECISION 

During-  this  month  of  April,  decision  for  Christ  will 
be  placed  before  a  great  many  of  our  young  people. 
It  is  the  time-honored,  God-blessed  custom  of  our 
Church  that,  after  months  of  patient  catechisation  by 
the  pastor,  the  young  people  about  Easter  should  make 
open  confession  of  Christ  Jesus  before  men.  Those 
who  were  baptized  in  infancy  then  publicly  acknowl- 
edge their  faith  in  the  Saviour,  and  take  upon  them- 
selves the  vows  to  forsake  all  evil,  to  cleave  unto  the 
Lord  and  lead  the  Christian  life. 

It  is  at  this  time  of  decision  that  the  influence  of 
fellow-Christians,  especially  of  parents  and  Sunday 
school  teachers,  is  a  mighty  force  for  Christ.  To  us, 
it  has  always  seemed  the  privilege  of  parents  and 
teachers,  from  the  time  a  young  person  begins  to  go 
to  catechetical  instruction,  to  pray  for  him,  to  em- 
brace every  opportunity  to  reinforce  the  teachings  of 
the  pastor,  to  show  a  genuine  interest  in  him,  and  a 
desire  that  he  should  share  the  blessings  of  church 
membership  and  of  open  confession  of  Jesus  as  Sav- 
iour. When,  however,  the  time  of  decision  comes 
these  efforts  should  be  redoubled. 

One  never  can  tell  what  the  expression  of  a  loving 
desire  that  another  should  share  with  you  disciple- 
ship  can  effect.  We  have  noticed  teachers  intensely 
anxious  concerning  their  scholars  at  such  a  time.  Al- 
most invariably  it  has  resulted  in  leading  their  scholars 
to  the  open  choice  of  Christ.  Nothing  has  proved  a 
greater  hindrance  to  the  pastor's  work  than  indiffer- 
ence on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  It  chills  the  young 
heart.  The  reasoning  readily  arises,  "If  decision  for 
Christ  was  important,  my  teacher  would  be  anxious 
that  I  should  make  it.  On  other  occasions,  about  other 
affairs,  my  teacher  has  been  so  anxious  that  I  should 

248 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  249 

join  with  the  rest  of  the  class.  Now  nothing  is  said, 
no  interest  expressed.  This  decision  for  Christ  is  not 
important." 

Is  not  this  well  illustrated  by  the  following: 

"A  young  woman  went  to  a  college  where  for  six 
months  she  was  one  of  a  group  of  students  who  spent 
their  social  as  well  as  student  hours  together.  A  re- 
ligious meeting  was  held  in  the  college,  where  the 
question  was  asked,  'Will  all  Christians  rise?'  This 
young  woman  arose. 

"The  President  of  the  Christian  Association  was 
asked  by  one  of  the  group  who  was  not  a  Christian, 
'Now,  honestly,  do  you  wonder  that  we  were  sur- 
prised? How  could  we  know  that  she  was  different 
from  us?  She  never  said  anything  about  it.  One  night 
we  were  making  fun  in  a  way  that  might  have  shocked 
Christian  girls,  I  am  sure,  because  it  came  very  near 
to  irreverence,  and  she  joined  in  it  all.  She  never 
said  the  least  thing  that  might  cause  us  to  think  that 
she  was  a  Christian.  Besides,  when  she  loses  her  tem- 
per, she  talks  dreadfully,  the  same  as  I  do,  and  I 
always  thought  Christians  were  different  from  that.'  " 

The  teachings  of  the  Bible  in  a  formal  way  is  one 
thing.  The  loving  desire  for  another's  salvation  is 
quite  another.  Scholars  are  observant.  They  are  on 
the  lookout  as  to  the  agreement  of  our  life  with  the 
teachings  of  Christ.  They  expect  that  we  shall  ex- 
press our  desire  that  they,  too,  should  serve  Christ. 
They  want  those  words  of  invitation  to  come  sincerely 
from  a  warm  heart. 

We  ought,  therefore,  to  pray  for  the  scholars,  to 
pray  that  opportunity  may  be  given  us  to  speak  to 
them  and  that  we  may  wisely  use  the  opportunity, 
speaking  the  right  word.  We  should  pray  for  them 
one  by  one,  pray  for  them  by  name.  As  special  prom- 
ise is  given  to  any  two  agreeing,  join  with  another  to 
pray  for  your  scholars  and  for  the  scholars  of  the 
other. 


250 


LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 


One  desirous  of  the  salvation  of  some  entrusted  to 
her  found  her  words  unavaiHng.  She  bethought  her- 
self of  this  promise.  She  asked  another  to  join  with 
her  in  prayer.  The  result  was  an  ingathering  of  those 
whose  salvation  she  sought.  We  may  not,  indeed,  at 
once  be  successful  with  all,  but  our  prayers  in  time 
will  be  answered,  and  we  shall  have  the  joy  of  lead- 
ing others  to  share  with  us  the  fellowship  of  the 
Master  and  of  giving  other  workers  to  His  kingdom. 


"DISCOVERING  A  GENIUS" 

Charlotte  Bronte  is  one  of  the  great  names  in 
English  literature.  She  had  genius.  "Jane  Eyre"  is 
known  far  and  wide,  but,  in  her  other  books,  like,  and 
some  think,  even  greater  power  is  shown. 

Her  latest  biographer  ascribes  her  success  as  a 
writer  to  her  association  with  M.  Heger,  in  whose 
school  at  Brussels  she  was  a  teacher.  He  discovered 
her  genius.  He  then  set  before  her  those  ideals  and 
taught  her  those  literary  methods  of  writing,  without 
which  she  could  never  have  achieved  great  things.  He 
encouraged  her  to  write,  and  made  her  believe  in  her- 
self as  gifted  to  win  a  place  among  the  great  writers 
of  her  land.  Her  genius,  untutored  and  unrestrained, 
would  not  have  sufficed.  It  needed  the  formative  hand 
of  this  teacher  to  shape  it  into  excellency. 

All  this  sets  us  to  thinking  that  teachers  have  a 
most  important  part  in  the  making  of  men  and  women. 
It  is  true,  some  men  of  genius,  untutored,  have  left 
writings  that  the  world  will  never  let  die.  They  have, 
for  themselves,  conquered  every  difficulty.  But  they 
have  done  so  at  great  cost  to  themselves,  and  wasted 
much  energy  ere  their  failures  taught  them  how  to 
write.  Had  some  one  like  M.  Heger  directed  their 
talents  and  taught  them  how  to  place  their  thought 
before  others,  they  would  have  succeeded  more 
quickly,  and,  perhaps,  have  accomplished  even  greater 
things. 

The  truth  is  an  important  one  to  Sunday  school 
teachers.  Some  seem  to  think  that  when  they  have 
brought  their  scholars  to  Christ,  their  labors  are  fin- 
ished. We  might  as  well  say,  when  the  teacher  dis- 
covers the  spark  of  genius  in  a  scholar,  his  labors  are 
done.  But  as  Charlotte  Bronte  needed  M.  Heger  the 
more  because  she  was  a  genius,  so  the  scholars  need 
the  wise  teacher  the  more  because  they  have  the  be- 

251 


252  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF   CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

ginning  of  life  with  Christ  Jesus. 

Such  beginners  are  very  apt  to  run  to  excesses,  or 
to  take  one-sided  views  of  the  Christian  hfe,  or  to 
grow  discouraged  and  give  up  because  hfe  with  Christ 
is  hard  to  reaHze.  They  need  judicious  counsel,  the 
unfolding  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ,  so  that  they 
may  develop  their  Christian  life  and  bring  rich  fruit- 
age at  its  best.  Some  will  do  it  without  teaching,  but 
after  many  blunders  and  sore  heart-aches.  Some  may 
despair,  after  having  run  well  for  a  season,  and  give 
up  the  Saviour. 

Then,  too,  the  teacher  can  discover,  ofttimes,  just 
what  field  of  Christian  work  the  beginner  is  best  fitted 
for.  There  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  some  to  make 
all  Christians  alike.  They  must  do  the  same  things, 
pray  the  same  way,  give  testimony  alike,  work  by  the 
same  methods.  If  we  would  stop  to  read  the  twelfth 
chapter  of  First  Corinthians  we  would  learn  that  it 
was  never  designed  we  should  be  all  like  peas  in  a  pod. 
The  Spirit  gives  diversely.  We  cannot  all  sing  like 
angels,  nor  can  we  all  work  in  the  same  fashion.  I 
have  a  great  deal  of  respect  for  the  business  man, 
slow  of  tongue,  who  said,  'T  am  not  much  of  a 
talker,  but  if  the  rest  of  you  will  talk  I  will  make 
the  money  to  keep  the  talkers  going."  Let  us  be 
done  with  this  nonsense  that  a  man  is  not  a  Christian 
because  he  does  not  pray  or  teach  or  talk  as  I  do. 
"Has  he  faith?"  "Has  he  love?"  "Does  he  serve  in 
his  own  way?"  These  are  the  vital  questions.  Using 
our  sanctified  Christian  good  sense,  let  us  closely 
study  our  scholars  and  guide  them  to  the  place  to 
which  God  has  called  them,  and  for  which  He  has 
given  them  gifts. 

The  teacher  will  see  that,  to  lead  others  to  the 
larger  life  in  Christ,  he  must  himself  know  that  larger 
life,  and  be  striving  for  it.  He  must  have  knowledge 
of  Christ  in  His  word.  Apollos  was  a  very  eloquent 
man,  but  Priscilla  and  Aquila,  tent-makers,  took  him 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  253 

unto  them  and  "expounded  unto  them  the  way  of 
God  more  perfectly."  After  that  his  eloquence  was 
just  as  great,  perhaps  greater,  but  he  also  had  power 
to  win  men  to  Christ.  These  teachers  discovered  his 
genius,  and  taught  it  the  better  way  to  exercise  itself. 

The  other  day  someone  came  and  reported  to  us 
the  words  of  a  fervent  evangelist.  If  he  was  reported 
correctly,  he  has  a  great  deal  to  learn.  He  told  his 
hearers,  "All  you  need  do  is  to  ask  Jesus  for  more  life, 
and  He  will  give  it  you."  So  He  will,  but  He  has 
marked  out  the  way,  the  word  and  the  sacraments. 
We  must  seek  Him  in  His  word,  we  must  be  baptized 
and  meet  Him  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  we  must  obey  that 
word,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  of  life  may  abide  with  us. 
What  is  the  use  in  such  vague  preaching?  It  simply 
leads  to  fanaticism,  but  not  to  wholesome,  harmoni- 
ous. Christian  life. 

What  we  need  as  teachers  is  to  have  a  good  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  and  His  teachings,  which  we  may  im- 
part to  others  to  guide  them  to  a  wholesome  life  in 
Christ.  That,  of  course,  means  general  study  of  the 
Bible,  of  the  doctrines  as  held  by  the  Church.  The 
particular  study  of  the  lesson  should  be  pursued  dili- 
gently, but.  back  of  this,  for  the  highest  teaching, 
should  be  diligent  study  of  the  whole  of  the  Scriptures 
and  the  teachings  of  the  Church,  that  the  fullness  of 
Christian  life,  so  far  as  we  can  grasp  it,  may  be  held 
up  to  others.  For  these  reasons  teacher-training 
courses  are  established  to  help  to  this  larger  knowl- 
edge. There  is  nothing  to  daunt  us  in  this.  The  high 
ideal  will  keep  us  from  stagnating  and  sinking  into 
machinelike  teaching  that  practically  is  the  same  Sun- 
day after  Sunday.  But  then  it  was  a  great  thing  for 
M.  Heger  to  discover  a  genius.  It  will  be  an  infinite 
joy  to  discover  your  scholar  and  make  a  workman  for 
the  Lord  of  whom  none  needs  to  be  ashamed,  a  man 
whose  rich  Christian  character  shall  be  of  untold  bene- 
fit to  his  generation. 


WHAT  INFLUENCED  YOU  MOST? 

In  looking  back  upon  your  own  Sunday  school  life 
as  a  scholar,  have  you  ever  thought  what  was  the 
greatest  influence  in  the  Sunday  school  on  you  for 
good  ?  Undoubtedly  the  strongest  influence  upon  very 
many  came  through  the  life  and  personality  of  a 
teacher  devoted  to  God,  whose  spirit  and  character 
was  a  copy  of  the  Master's. 

Through  the  gracious  personality  of  such  a  teacher 
the  Bible  message  came  with  vividness.  The  beautiful 
and  lofty  purpose  that  was  evident  stirred  you  out  of 
carelessness  and  shamed  you  into  better  things.  The 
love  for  Christ,  breathed  both  in  word  and  look, 
persuaded  you  to  embrace  that  love.  The  reality  of 
fellowship  with  God  convinced  you  that  He  lived  and 
made  Himself  known  to  those  who  trusted  Him. 

In  my  own  case,  the  Sunday  schools  which  I  at- 
tended were  very  poor,  and  I  never  had  a  teacher  of 
strong  religious  conviction.  But  to  offset  this,  I  had  a 
father  (my  mother  was  dead)  whose  walk  with  God 
was  close  and  whose  Christian  personality  was  in  evi- 
dence all  the  days  of  the  week  and  in  all  his  speech  and 
deeds.  His  influence  was  mighty  in  leading  me  to 
Christ  and  convincing  me  of  the  reality  of  religion. 
Why  should  not  this  influence  of  personality  be 
mighty?  Dr.  Trumbull  says  very  wisely:  "Nor  is  it 
sufficient  to  have  Jesus  Christ  as  the  ideal  standard  of 
character  and  of  human  conduct,  without  any  inter- 
mediate exhibit  between  Him  and  ourselves,  of  the 
attributes  and  traits  which  His  nature  personifies  and 
illustrates.  Human  nature  needs  the  inspiration  and 
the  encouragement  of  purely  human  ideals,  reflecting 
and,  so  far,  reproducing  the  one  perfect  ideal,  as  an 
incentive  and  pattern  to  worthy  being  and  doing.  We 
know  that  we  ought  to  be  like-minded  with  Christ; 

254 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  255 

but  Christ  is  so  far  above  us,  and  we  are  so  hopelessly 
unlike  Him  at  the  best,  that  we  are  in  danger  of  de- 
spairing in  the  struggle,  while  we  have  nothing  before 
us  but  that  absolute  perfect  divine-human  standard  of 
attainment.  When,  however,  we  see  the  likeness  of 
Christ  imaged  in  one  trait  or  another  of  a  human  fol- 
lower of  Christ,  that  trait  has  new  attractiveness  to  us 
from  its  very  possibility  of  imitation ;  and  so  the  fol- 
lowers and  witnesses  of  Christ  become  our  inspiring 
helpers  toward  Christ." 

The  young  do  a  great  deal  of  thinking  and  reflect- 
ing. They  are  apt  to  go  straight  to  the  mark  and 
brush  aside  sophistries.  When  they  observe  the  differ- 
ence between  the  character,  disposition,  purpose  and 
works  of  their  teacher  over  against  the  character, 
disposition,  purpose  and  works  of  worldly  people,  they 
at  once  decide  that  it  is  the  love  of  Christ  that  makes 
their  teacher  pure,  unselfish,  patient,  righteous.  If  the 
teacher  does  not  differ  from  the  worldly  man  or 
woman,  they  conclude  that  there  is  no  difference  be- 
tween Christ's  influence  and  the  world's,  or  that  the 
profession  made  is  hollow,  hypocritical,  full  of  cant, 
and  they  revolt  from  all  Christianity,  unless  the  sincere 
Christian  love  of  some  other  person  or  persons  counter- 
acts the  deadly  impression. 

If  these  things  are  so,  do  we  not  see  that  our  great- 
est concern  as  teachers  should  be  the  cultivation  of 
our  own  life  with  Christ,  or,  in  other  words,  to  lead 
a  sincere,  steadfast,  unselfish  Christian  life?  Methods 
have  their  force  and  use.  But  back  of  methods  must 
be  spirit,  and  back  of  all  Sunday  school  methods  espe- 
cially must  be  the  Christian  spirit. 

In  the  long  run  the  rich  personality,  with  poor  meth- 
ods, is  vastly  better  than  good  methods  with  poverty 
of  personality.  For  the  impartation  of  Bible  facts  by 
ingenious  methods  may  be  capitally  done  and  yet  the 
heart  be  untouched,  On  the  other  hand,  strong  per- 
sonality may  enkindle  the  spirit  of  love  to  Christ  in  the 


256  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

heart  of  the  scholar,  though  it  may  not  convey  so  many 
facts  or  in  so  skillful  a  way.  As  one  has  said,  "Noth- 
ing so  interesting,  nothing  so  important  as  this  process 
which  is  continually  going  on  all  around  us — the 
illumination  of  souls  by  an  already  illuminated  soul.*' 

To  put  first  things  first  is  wisdom.  We  are  not 
to  despise  method.  We  should  learn  the  teacher  meth- 
ods that  our  teaching  may  have  the  widest  scope.  We 
should  know  as  much  of  the  Bible  as  possible,  that 
the  truths  that  broaden  character  may  be  imparted. 
But  after  all  is  said  and  done,  the  first  and  absolute 
thing  is  that  you  know  Christ  yourself,  that  you  gain 
a  rich  Christian  personality  by  fellowship  with  Him 
and  obedience  in  daily  life.  Then  when  you  have  heart 
experience  you  will  speak  the  words  that  thrill  and 
your  life  will  bear  its  silent  and  powerful  testimony 
to  your  scholars  that  your  words  are  true,  and  per- 
suade them  to  seek  the  goodness  and  beauty  of  the 
life  in  and  with  Christ. 

Though  they  might  not  be  able  to  put  it  into  exact 
words,  your  scholars  practically  say,  "If  the  religion 
of  Christ  makes  him  a  man  like  that,  then  I  want  to 
be  Christ's,  that  I  may  be  a  man  just  like  he  is." 


WHAT  THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  HAS  DONE 

Everyone  who  knows  our  common  schools  has  a 
great  respect  for  the  teachers  and  their  work.  They 
are  well  trained  and  educated  thoroughly  for  the  re- 
quirements of  their  position.  They  have  been  well 
grounded  in  the  methods  of  teaching  and  have  been 
taught  to  observe  the  child  and  his  characteristics. 
They  are  well  informed  concerning  the  branches  they 
are  to  impart  to  the  children,  full  of  the  special  sub- 
jects given  them  as  their  department. 

The  children,  especially  the  older  ones,  who  come 
to  our  Sunday  schools,  accustomed  to  such  instructors 
and  instructions,  have  little  respect  for  teachers  of  the 
Bible  who  know  neither  how  to  teach  nor  the  subject 
which  they  teach.  The  day  school  has  spoiled  them. 
It  has  given  them  a  high  standard,  which  standard  to 
a  certain  extent  must  be  measured  up  to  by  the  Sun- 
day school. 

As  teachers  we  may  grumble  about  it,  but  grumbling 
will  not  meet  the  situation.  It  is  there ;  wisdom  indi- 
cates that  we  must  face  it  and  prove  ourselves  superior 
to  it,  if  we  would  make  Sunday  school  teaching  re- 
spected by  the  scholars  of  the  day  school  who  sit  under 
able  and  trained  teachers  during  the  week. 

Every  teacher  that  has  ambition  to  do  good  work 
should  study  some  manual  on  teaching  to  learn  the 
methods  of  teaching  and  child-nature.  There  are  a 
number  of  such  text-books.  Or,  if  a  chance  is  given  to 
enter  a  teacher-training  class  he  should  seize  it. 

But  there  is  one  thing  everyone  can  get  that  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  retain  the  respect  of  the  scholars 

a  good  working  knowledge  of  the  Bible  itself.  These 
bright  day  scholars  will  respect  and  be  proud  of  a 
teacher  who  knows  the  Bible  so  well  that  they  cannot 
puzzle  her  or  him  and  who  speak  concerning  it  as  a 

257 


258  LIFE   AND   WORKS   OF    CHARLES   S.    ALBERT 

book  well  known,  both  as  to  its  contents  and  meaning. 

To  gain  this  knowledge  there  must  be  daily  reading 
of  the  Bible  to  familiarize  one  with  its  contents  as  well 
as  to  feed  one's  own  soul.  Then  there  must  be  study 
of  it,  not  merely  the  study  of  the  lesson,  important 
as  that  is,  but  study  of  books,  circumstances,  meaning, 
until  there  is  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  as  a 
whole  and  in  its  parts.  You  should  have  a  good  Bible 
dictionary,  and,  if  possible,  a  commentary  to  refer  to. 
When  your  scholars  find  that  you  are  familiar  with, 
and  are  full  of  knowledge  concerning  the  Bible,  they 
will  respect  you  and  listen  to  you.  Besides  it  will  give 
freshness,  variety  and  breadth  to  your  teaching,  for 
your  knowledge  of  the  whole  will  enable  you  to  illus- 
trate one  portion  of  the  Bible  with  another  portion — 
the  best  of  all  illustrations. 

Of  course,  wo.  would  not  say  that  faith  and  obedience 
to  Christ  are  not  the  best  helps  to  understanding  the 
Bible,  but  how  can  we  believe  and  obey  when  we  do 
not  know  Him  in  His  word  ?  There  must  be  the  whole 
Christ,  not  a  partial  Christ,  and  He  comes  to  us  in 
His  fullness  when  we  know  Him  in  the  fullness  of  the 
Bible. 

This  full  knowledge  of  the  Bible  can  be  gained  if 
we  would  devote  but  a  small  portion  of  the  day  to  its 
study.  How  vast  would  be  our  reward,  not  alone  for 
ourselves,  but  in  enriched  teaching  of  our  scholars. 


TEACH  RIGHTEOUSNESS 

A  great  deal  of  emphasis  is  being  placed  on  personal 
work  to-day,  on  seeking  men  personally  and  pressing 
upon  them  the  invitation  of  Christ  to  come  unto  Him. 
In  the  addresses  made  to  Sunday  school  teachers  there 
is  ever  the  cry,  "Bring  your  scholars  to  Christ."  All 
this  is  most  important,  for  surely  the  fundamental 
thing  is  to  bring  the  sinner  into  personal  relation  with 
Christ  by  faith. 

All  this  is  heartily  conceded,  but  we  question  whether 
in  this  insistence  something  tremendously  important 
also  is  not  often  neglected — the  necessity  of  instruc- 
tion concerning  a  righteous,  well-developed  Christian 
life.  Life  comes  first,  but  life  needs  to  be  healthily  and 
harmoniously  developed.  A  babe  has  life,  life  that 
has  all  the  possibilities  of  manhood.  Unless  it  be 
trained  and  disciplined  and  strengthened  in  body, 
mind  and  spirit,  the  life  is  a  failure,  and,  perhaps,  is 
lost,  because  no  resistive  power  to  the  attacks  of  dis- 
ease and  temptation  has  been  cultivated. 

Very  many  of  our  scholars  come  to  look  on  the  re- 
ligious life  as  a  mere  emotional  thing,  and  think  it 
something  distinct  from  their  every-day  life  in  school 
or  business.  Religion  is  church  attendance,  reading 
the  Bible,  praying,  testifying  in  meetings,  speaking  to 
others  about  Christ.  They  do  not  seem  to  be  taught 
the  stern  side  of  religion,  that  it  is  righteous  living 
in  thought,  word  and  deed,  that  is  just  as  busy  the 
other  six  days  of  the  week  as  on  Sunday,  putting  into 
practice  the  moral  teachings  of  the  Bible  at  any  cost, 
into  business,  pleasure  and  society.  They  do  not  seem 
to  realize  that  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  to  guide 
them  as  to  conduct,  just  as  much  as  the  parable  of 
the  Prodigal  Son  as  to  spirit. 

Indeed,  our  invitations  to  become  Christians  lack 
259 


260 


LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 


the  warning  note  of  Christ — "Count  the  cost."  We 
do  not  set  forth  His  demands  for  a  pure,  honest,  up- 
right, righteous  Hfe  as  much  as  His  kindly  readiness  to 
receive  him  who  comes.  Jesus  Himself  was  ever  sift- 
ing those  who  came.  He  cared  for  no  divided  heart. 
He  wanted  men  to  give  themselves  utterly  to  His 
service  and  obey  Him  everywhere  and  in  all  things. 

One  of  the  sad  things  to  day  is  the  double  life  many 
professed  Christians  live.  They  are  zealous  church 
members,  and  during  the  week  are  swayed  by  worldly 
principles,  pleasures  and  methods.  In  business  they 
gamble,  falsify,  drive,  oppress,  covet,  take  advantage 
contrary  to  every  teaching  of  Christ.  Surely  they  have 
never  given  their  whole  life  to  Christ. 

And  much  of  our  teaching  fails  in  making  boys 
and  girls  righteous  in  their  lives.  A  physician  (he  may 
have  been  an  opponent)  was  heard  to  say  that  when  he 
wanted  a  boy  he  always  asked  him  whether  he  went  to 
Sunday  school,  and  if  he  replied,  "Yes,"  he  would  not 
have  him,  because  he  found  Sunday  school  boys  worth- 
less. Of  course  we  know  that  is  an  exaggeration,  but 
it  does  point  the  truth  that  too  many  of  our  scholars 
do  not  live  righteously  in  the  world  about  them.  It 
may  be  the  fault  of  the  weak,  conscienceless  life  so 
prevalent  everywhere,  it  may  be  faultiness  in  our 
teaching  and  example. 

Let  us,  therefore,  recall  that  our  work  is  only  begun 
when  we  get  scholars  to  decide  for  Christ.  The  other 
side  of  the  work  is  to  teach  them  the  essentials  of  a 
Christlilce  life,  to  be  righteous,  moral,  good,  self- 
denying  and  pure. 

Christ's  final  command  v.'as,  "Go  ye  and  make  disci- 
ples of  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  teach- 
ing them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded yoii."  When  He  forgave  Peter,  His  command 
was,  "Feed  my  lambs,"  "Feed  my  sheep,"  indicating 
that  He  places  in  the  very  foremost  the  supply  that 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  261 

shall  strengthen  and  round  out  the  life  that  is  begun 
in  Him. 

Let  us  not  overlook,  then,  this  important  feature  of 
our  teaching,  to  inculcate  those  principles  and  duties 
which  tend  to  righteousness,  until  our  scholars  shall 
be  known  by  the  beauty  and  strength  of  a  holy  life. 


VACATION  AND  RETURN  TO  WORK 

Vacation  sends  some  teachers  back  to  work  with 
greater  zest  and  renewed  vigor.  To  others  the  ex- 
perience is  just  the  reverse.  They  have  so  enjoyed 
the  Sundays  that  were  without  the  labors  of  teaching 
that  they  hate  or  dread  to  take  them  up  again. 

Let  us  be  honest.  There  is  at  times  a  drudgery  con- 
nected with  teaching,  a  drudgery  that  has  Httle  zest  in 
it  and  which  only  a  stern  sense  of  duty  can  enable  one 
to  endure.  But  that  is  true  of  everything  we  do  reg- 
ularly. At  first  the  doing  is  a  joy,  and  then  some  day 
the  zest  goes  all  out  of  it  and  we  drag  ourselves  to  our 
tasks,  whether  we  be  artisans,  merchants,  teachers, 
preachers  or_  what  not.  And  yet  so  splendid  are  the 
results  brought  out  by  drudgery — conquest  of  sloth, 
energy,  power,  strength  of  will,  self-mastery — that 
someone  has  said,  "Blessed  be  drudgery."  Drudgery 
has  been  at  the  bottom  of  the  best  service,  the  finest 
achievements  of  arts,  science,  invention,  statesmanship, 
all  that  the  world  calls  best. 

That  is  worth  while  thinking  about  when,  vacation 
over,  the  drudgery  of  teaching  begins  again. 

Vacation  over,  begin  your  work  promptly.  The 
longer  you  put  it  off  the  harder  it  will  be  to  begin. 
Again,  the  longer  you  put  off  beginning  the  more  you 
will  dissipate  the  results  you  have  already  accom- 
plished with  your  class.  There  is  always  a  let-down 
in  the  class  uncared  for  by  the  regular  teacher.  The 
longer  the  absence,  the  worse  the  let-down.  Get  them 
together  as  soon  as  you  can.  Go  after  them  at  once 
if  they  do  not  report. 

As  a  teacher  you  are  entitled  to  a  good  deal  of 
sympathy  and  encouragement.  You  are  a  volunteer, 
unpaid,  teaching  out  of  love  to  Christ.  It  is  more  than 
possible  that  a  great  deal  of  fault  is  found  with  you, 

262 


WORK  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  263 

and  that  there  is  not  a  Httle  criticism  of  your  methods 
and  abiHty.  Unfortunately  this  is  too  much  the  case 
and  not  justifiable  in  large  part.  However,  you  are 
not  working  for  sympathy  or  praise,  you  are  working 
for  Christ  by  taking  care  of  the  scholars  He  has  en- 
trusted to  you  to  train  for  Him.  As  long  as  you  know 
you  are  doing  your  conscientious  best,  never  mind 
man's  judgment,  but  take  all  to  Him. 

Besides,  reflect  on  what  you  are  doing.  What  is  the 
highest  blessing  we  can  bring  to  anyone?  You  recall 
Jesus  said  His  truth  made  men  free.  Salvation  was 
freedom.  The  Bible  speaks  to  us  of  those  in  the  bond- 
age of  sin  and  death.  Is  there  anything  so  pitiable  as 
the  men  behind  prison  bars,  in  bondage,  limited  ?  What 
greater  blessing  than  to  throw  wide  the  prison  bars 
and  give  them  freedom !  And  we  are  doing  that  when 
we  lead  a  scholar  out  of  sin  and  guilt  into  the  freedom 
which  Christ  gives  to  everyone  that  believes.  And  all 
the  further  teaching  that  we  give,  that  leads  the  scholar 
who  believes  into  a  larger  knowledge  of  truth  in  Christ 
is  freeing  them  from  limitations  and  giving  them  the 
larger  and  better  things. 

Much  of  Christ's  work  was  just  that,  not  alone  sav- 
ing from  sin,  but  revealing  the  Father  and  His  ways 
and  His  wisdom  by  His  words  and  His  life.  One  of 
the  sweetest  things  in  our  Christian  life  is  the  coming 
into  the  better  understanding  of  Christ  and  His  truth 
that  frees  us  from  the  ignorance  of  God  that  limited 
us  in  our  joy  and  peace  and  knowledge.  And  as  we 
live  and  learn  this  experience  is  repeated  again  and 
again. 

He  gives  you  this  work  to  lead  your  scholars  out 
of  ignorance  into  the  better  and  clearer  knowledge  of 
Him,  a  blessing  not  to  be  calculated  by  weight  or 
measure  or  money.  Such  teachings  of  yours  are  then 
the  doorways  for  them  into  a  blessed  life  of  trust  and 
service. 

I  suppose  that  the  reason  we  fail  to  grasp  this  is 


264  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

because  the  spiritual  effect  is  unseen.  The  scholar 
shyly  conceals  what  has  been  done  to  his  soul.  We 
are  ignorant  of  what  has  been  accomplished.  Again, 
spiritual  growth  is  slow.  We  must  wait  patiently  ere 
the  fruit  comes.  Here,  as  with  our  own  future  re- 
wards, we  must  have  faith.  We  see  not  the  future 
life  with  its  blessedness,  but  we  hope  for  it.  Even 
so  with  our  spiritual  work.  We  sow,  and  then  must 
wait  in  hope.    But  God  will  not  deceive. 

Let  these  things  cheer  you  and  help  you  after  vaca- 
tion to  go  back  with  zest  to  your  class. 


WEAKNESS  OF  THE  NEW  EDUCATION 

Keen  observers  of  our  Sunday  school  work  to- 
day are  saying  that  in  the  new  teaching,  with  its  imita- 
tion of  the  secular  educational  methods,  the  real  work 
of  the  Sunday  school  is  being  neglected.  The  real 
work  of  the  Sunday  school  is  to  kindle  faith  in  God 
through  Christ  Jesus  and  to  nurture  the  religious  life, 
training  it  to  service.  The  heart  must  be  reached. 
Education  is  but  a  scaffold.  It  is  not  and  never  can 
be  the  structure.  The  intellect  can  be  developed  by 
education,  but  unless  choice  and  action  be  secured, 
the  character  remains  unchanged  or,  perhaps,  made 
worse.  Truth  can  be  a  savor  of  death  unto  death 
where  there  is  refusal  to  accept. 

Interest,  which  the  educational  methods  may  secure, 
may  be  worthless.  Interest,  secured  by  the  new  peda- 
gogy, is  of  worth  only  so  far  as  it  leads  to  truth  seen 
and  embraced.  No  one  can  question  that  a  wealth  of 
work,  admirable  and  praiseworthy,  is  being  bestowed 
on  the  Bible  by  educators.  But  unless  this  work 
centralizes  itself  on  Jesus  Christ  and  the  saving  truths, 
the  need  of  righteousness,  the  necessity  of  faith,  the 
grace  brought  through  His  sufferings  and  death,  the 
work  as  Christian  work  is  an  absolute  failure. 

The  weakness  of  the  leaders  of  the  new  religious 
education,  with  all  their  study  of  the  child  in  the 
different  stages  of  growth  and  the  choice  of  material 
suited  to  these  different  stages,  is  its  tendency  to  ig- 
nore sin,  God's  atonement  for  sin  in  Jesus  Christ, 
His  grace  as  given  in  the  means  of  grace,  and  the 
primal  need  of  faith.  The  child  is  to  become  God's 
child  and  be  kept  God's  child  by  keeping  from  it  the 
somber  things  of  life,  pain,  death,  and  by  dwelling  on 
the  pleasant  things  of  life,  and  finding  here  the  great 

265 


266  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S,  ALBERT 

evidences  of  the  love  and  the  mercy  of  God,  is  the  new 
theory. 

Yet  the  truths  that  have  made  Christ  precious  to 
children  and  men  above  all  others  are  the  truths  by 
which  they  learn  to  triumph  over  pain,  suffering  and 
sin,  and  to  gather  strength  for  the  fight  for  patience, 
courage  and  righteousness  as  God's  children. 

Let  us  not  be  too  sanguine  because  we  win  and 
hold  the  attention  of  our  scholars  by  the  delightful 
stories,  pictures  and  methods  which  the  new  education 
gives  us,  that  we  are  really  influencing  the  heart  and 
life.  Long  ago  Ezekiel  was  told  this,  "Also,  thou  son 
of  man,  the  children  of  thy  people  talk  of  thee  by  the 
walls  and  in  the  doors  of  the  houses,  and  speak  one 
to  another,  everyone  to  his  brother,  saying,  Come,  I 
pray  you,  and  hear  what  is  the  word  that  cometh  forth 
from  Jehovah.  And  they  come  unto  thee  as  the  peo- 
ple cometh,  and  they  sit  before  thee  as  my  people, 
and  they  hear  thy  words,  but  do  them  not ;  for  with 
their  mouth  they  show  much  love,  but  their  heart  go- 
eth  after  their  gain.  And,  lo !  thou  art  unto  them  as  a 
very  lovely  song  of  one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice, 
and  can  play  well  on  an  instrument;  for  they  hear 
thy  words,  but  they  do  them  not." 

So  Christ  was  heard.  But  few  were  wise,  and  hear- 
ing his  sayings  did  them  and  built  their  house  on  the 
rock. 

Unless  we  can  move  our  scholars  to  choice  and 
deed,  our  brilliant  teaching  according  to  the  newest 
methods  will  fail.  They  will  not  be  deeply  moved 
nor  make  the  great  choice  because  of  moral  platitudes 
and  roseate  descriptions  of  goodness,  but  alone  when 
they  learn  that  they  are  poor  sinners  and  can  only  be 
made  righteous  as  they  believe  in  Jesus  who  died  to 
save  from  sin  and  give  power  to  live  righteously. 


UNPROMISING  MATERIAL 

Much  of  the  material  given  to  the  worker  is  un- 
promising. He  complains  that  he  could  really  do  a 
great  deal  better  than  he  is  doing,  if  he  had  only 
better  material,  but  those  given  him  are  so  inferior, 
dull,  ignorant,  or  so  restless,  mischief-loving,  that  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  make  any  lasting  impression. 
"Give  me  better  material  and  I  will  give  you  better  re- 
sults." 

Without  doubt  there  is  much  that  is  reasonable  m 
these  complaints.  Is  there  not,  however,  another  way 
in  which  to  look  at  this  unpromising  material?  Would 
it  not  be  better  to  ask  what  is  the  best  that  can  be  made 
out  of  this  material? 

In  Florence  is  the  most  magnificent  of  modern 
sculptures,  the  David  by  Michael  Angelo.  The  block 
of  marble  out  of  which  it  was  hewn  was  rejected  by 
another  artist  who  had  worked  upon  it,  and  had  cast 
it  aside  as  unfit.  Michael  Angelo  saw  the  rejected 
stone  and  its  possibilities,  and  taking  it,  with  infinite 
patience  shaped  it  into  the  glorious  David,  with  God- 
like face,  with  confident  pose,  just  ready  to  loosen  the 
sling  with  which  to  smite  the  giant  Goliath  to  the 
earth. 

The  block  was  unpromising  material.  Michael 
Angelo  considered  not  so  much  its  imperfections  as 
its  possibilities.  He  brought  to  it  his  artistic  genius 
and  infinite  patience.  The  end  crowned  the  work.  The 
statue  is  unequaled  for  majesty,  strength  and  manly 
beauty  of  body  and  face. 

The  worker  must  never  forget  the  infinite  possi- 
bilities of  every  human  soul.  Jesus  Christ  put  a  new 
valuation  on  every  child  and  every  man.  Others  had 
asked  for  the  strong,  the  wise,  the  rich.     Jesus  took 

267 


268  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

the  weak,  the  poor,  the  despised,  the  babes,  and  of 
these  built  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Someone  has  said  that  in  the  construction  of  the 
windows  of  a  cathedral  one  window  stood  out  above 
all  the  others  for  richness  of  design  and  loveliness. 
It  was  the  work  of  an  apprentice.  The  master  artist 
was  put  to  shame.  Angry,  he  demanded  where  the 
apprentice  had  gotten  his  materials.  He  answered 
'T  took  the  pieces  you  had  cast  away." 

That  is  just  what  Jesus  did.  He  took  the  poor, 
the  unlearned,  the  despised,  whom  the  workers,  the 
philosophers,  the  religious  leaders,  had  cast  away,  and 
out  of  them  built  a  kingdom  of  great  and  beautiful 
spirits  such  as  the  world  had  never  seen. 

It  would  be  well  if  more  of  us  could  take  to  heart 
the  truth.  Unpromising  material  is  God's  material.  If 
we  patiently  strive  with  it,  not  giving  way  to  dis- 
couragement. He  may,  through  us,  fashion  it  into 
His  likeness  and  glory. 


OCCASIONAL  TEACHERS 

I  was  much  interested  in  listening  to  a  newspaper 
man,  who  sees  a  great  deal  of  life  and  is  in  constant 
contact  with  men.  He  said  that  men  were  always 
ready  to  listen  to  direct,  manly  sermons,  sermons  that 
grip  and  deal  with  verities. 

He  himself  had  been  called  upon  by  his  pastor  to 
preach  a  lay  sermon  from  the  pulpit  one  Sunday.  He 
had  the  closest  attention,  and  felt,  on  the  whole,  he 
had  done  well,  perhaps  unconsciously  thought  that  he 
had  preached  better  than  the  clergyman  himself.  Pos- 
sibly he  had,  as  he  is  a  man  trained  to  write  and  gifted 
with  the  art  of  graphically  setting  forth  a  subject. 
Then,  too,  he  had  to  help  him  curiosity,  as  he  was  a 
novelty.  Novelty  wins  attention  even  when  the  per- 
formance, as  a  whole,  is  not  of  a  very  high  order.  He 
was  an  occasional  talker.  If  he  had  to  meet  the  same 
people  one  hundred  times  a  year  on  Sunday  with  a 
sermon,  fifty  times  on  Wednesday  evening  with  a 
lecture,  and  if,  besides  these,  there  were  talks  to  the 
Sunday  school,  to  societies,  at  funerals,  would  he  be 
able  to  win  and  hold  attention  at  each  and  every  one 
of  these  services? 

A  congressman  of  rare  ability,  an  occasional  attend- 
ant, once  said  to  me,  "I  don't  see  how  you  clergymen 
can  be  fresh  and  interesting,  making  a  hundred  speeches 
each  year  to  the  same  people.  Of  me  there  is  re- 
quired but  half  a  dozen  speeches  in  a  year,  into  which 
I  can  put  my  strength  and  thought." 

All  this  set  me  to  thinking  about  occasional  teach- 
ers. A  teacher  supplies  a  class  for  a  Sunday.  He  is  a 
novelty,  he  can  use  all  his  ideas,  for  he  has  pre- 
sented none  of  them  to  this  particular  class.  He  him- 
self is  inspired  by  the  fact  that  he  must  make  good 
with  this  new  class,  or,  better,  that  he  has  a  fine  op- 

269 


270  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S,  ALBERT 

portunity  to  make  clear  to  them  the  truth  which  he 
loves.  The  teaching  is  a  great  success.  The  class 
wishes  it  could  have  a  teacher  like  that  all  the  time. 

But  suppose  he  came  fifty  times  a  year.  The  nov- 
elty, of  course,  would  vanish.  The  fresh  ideas  would 
be  exhausted.  The  class,  with  the  familiarity  which 
breeds  contempt,  would  be  careless  and  inattentive. 
That  is  another  story. 

The  regular  teacher  needs  to  face  these  difficulties. 
He  must  study  how  to  keep  the  class  interested,  to 
give  fresh  thought,  to  develop  the  lesson  in  different 
ways  to  arouse  curiosity.  It  takes  grit,  patience.  It 
will  send  the  devout  teacher  to  his  knees  to  ask  God 
to  help  him.  But,  after  all,  it  is  the  regular  work  that 
tells.  Slowly,  unseen  in  its  effects,  the  influence  and 
teaching  make  their  impressions  on  the  scholars.  What 
is  most  needed  is  the  patience  of  love.  If  not  now, 
in  the  after  years  the  seed  sown  will  come  to  fruitage. 

This  is  written  to  encourage  the  regular  teacher. 
He  deserves  all  honor  for  sticking  to  his  work.  It  will 
be  often  discouraging.  It  will  seem  so  far  from  the 
ideal.  People  who  run  around  addressing  conventions, 
who  don't  teach  regularly  themselves,  can  give  a  great 
deal  of  advice  as  to  how  teaching  should  be  done. 
Often  the  substance  of  it  being  "my  way."  "My 
way"  may  do  very  well  for  "me,"  but  not  for  you. 
Perhaps,  too,  regular  work  would  not  be  so  palatable 
or  so  highly  successful  with  them. 

Let  us  stick  to  our  work  given  to  us  by  the  Lord. 
Let  us  do  our  best.  Then  let  us  put  our  work  in  the 
Lord's  hands  for  results,  and  He  will  bless  both  your 
work  and  you,  the  worker. 


IV 
GENERAL  RELIGIOUS  THEMES 


THE  KINGDOM  AND  THE  CHURCH 

Jesus,  the  Lord,  did  not  often  speak  of  the  Church, 
but  often  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  Acts  and  the 
Epistles  are  full  of  the  Church,  of  its  origin,  its  pur- 
pose, its  fellowship.  Nor  is  the  reason  far  to  seek. 
The  Lord  came  to  set  forth  the  kingdom  of  God  upon 
earth,  its  purpose,  principles  and  spirit.  The  king- 
dom of  God  is  doing  God's  will  on  the  earth  as  it  is  done 
in  heaven.  He  came  also  to  establish  the  Church,  the 
distinctively  religious  institution  through  which  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  to  be  advanced.  "The  kingdom  is 
the  end,  the  Church  a  means  to  that  end."  The  Chris- 
tian Church  could  not  be  established  until  Christ  had 
finished  His  work,  until  by  His  life  and  death  the 
gospel  had  been  set  forth,  by  preaching  and  teaching 
which  gospel  the  Church  should  bring  men  wholly 
into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Only  after  His  work  was 
done  and  He  had  gone  back  to  the  right  hand  of  God, 
could  He  send  forth  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  to  the 
Church  what  the  soul  is  to  the  body  of  man — its  life. 
When  Pentecost  came  and  the  Holy  Spirit  was  shed 
forth,  the  Christian  Church  was  born.  Its  invisible 
Head  is  Christ,  its  invisible  soul  is  the  Holy  Spirit.  It 
is  the  fellowship  of  believers  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  In 
it  is  the  word  of  the  gospel  and  the  sacraments  of  bap- 
tism and  the  Lord's  Supper,  by  which  He,  the  Spirit, 
regenerates  and  preserves  believers. 

It  will  thus  be  easily  understood  why  the  Lord 
Jesus  said  little  about  the  Church.  Its  hour  had  not 
come.  He  was  to  teach  the  principles  which  the  Church 
should  proclaim,  to  establish  the  sacraments  which 
should  be  the  means  of  grace  to  the  Church.  What  He 
did  say  concerning  the  Church  was  tremendous.  The 
rock  on  which  the  Church  was  to  be  built  was  Himself 
as  the  divine  Saviour.     On  this  rock  He  would  build 

'"  275 


274  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

the  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail 
against  it.  He  thus  declares  the  outcome  of  faith  in 
Him  will  be  the  Church  made  up  of  believers;  that  it 
is  eternal  and  cannot  be  overthrown.  When  Paul 
speaks  of  the  Church  and  says  that  it  is  the  body  of 
Christ,  precious  and  loved,  he  but  changes  Christ's 
figure. 

Again,  Christ  speaks  of  those  who  trespass  and  their 
reclamation.  The  wronged  is  to  tell  it  unto  the  Church, 
and  if  the  trespasser  continue  in  his  disobedience  and 
neglect  to  hear  the  Church,  he  is  to  be  as  a  heathen 
man  and  a  publican.  He  adds  also  to  the  Church  the 
power  of  binding  and  loosing  on  earth,  and  it  shall  be 
bound  and  loosed  in  heaven.  Here  He  confers  author- 
ity upon  the  Church  which  is  far-reaching  and  start- 
ling in  its  character.  Nor  must  it  be  overlooked  that 
when  Jesus  was  on  the  earth,  there  was  in  existence 
a  Church,  also  of  God,  the  Jewish  Church,  which  was 
to  the  Christian  Church  as  the  bud  to  the  flower.  He 
was  of  that  Church,  in  it,  observing  its  ceremonies 
and  worship,  its  truths,  together  with  His  disciples. 
He  did  not,  therefore,  despise  and  contemn  the  Church 
to  exalt  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  by  His  example  and 
practice  taught  that  even  an  imperfect  Church  is  better 
than  none.  Membership  in  it  is  both  a  duty  and  a 
privilege. 

A  study  of  The  Acts  shows  the  immense  importance 
and  worth  of  the  Church.  The  Church  is  the  key- 
note of  the  book.  Its  beginning,  its  progress,  its  life, 
its  victories,  its  nearness  to  God,  the  nearness  of  Christ 
to  it,  are  its  themes.  There  is  no  account  of  a  believer 
who  did  not  join  the  Church  gladly,  following  its  serv- 
ices and  life  with  joy. 

The  outward  allegiance  to  the  Church  was  then 
almost  the  same  as  the  inward  allegiance.  Ananias 
and  Sapphira  were  exceptions.  The  body  of  believers 
belonged  inwardly  by  faith  to  the  Church.  The  former 
lied  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  soul  of  the  Church.     The 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  275 

latter  was  glided  by  Him,  and  so  filled  with  love  that 
they  were  ready  to  hand  over  all  their  possessions  to 
such  as  were  in  need.  The  life  of  these  first  Church 
members  was  new  in  its  morality.  It  was  not  merely 
a  new  relig'ion,  it  brought  a  new  spirit  into  all  human 
relations.  Religion  was  connected  with  every  detail 
of  life.  Its  pleasures  and  employment,  its  common 
meals  and  actions,  were  all  sanctified  by  its  presence. 
The  secret  power  was  love,  that  catching  the  spirit  of 
Jesus,  loved  one's  neighbor  as  one's  self.  It  made  sac- 
rifice a  joy,  it  revolutionized  society,  exalted  women, 
ennobled  labor  and  obeyed  authority.  With  us  the 
Church  has  become  an  institution  that  has  in  it  many 
who  are  there  because  of  early  training,  but  who  have 
never  made  a  heartfelt  decision  for  Christ,  those  who 
hypocritically  seek  it  for  influence,  profit,  society,  posi- 
tion, those  who  have  lost  their  first  love.  It  is,  there- 
fore, judged  by  the  outward  and  not  by  the  inward, 
by  its  false  and  careless  members,  not  by  those  who  are 
believing  and  being  sanctified.  Those  are  the  ones 
that  weaken  its  influence  and  cause  men  to  think  that 
the  Church  is  not  the  means  to  advance  the  kingdom 
of  God.  If,  indeed,  the  Church  should  as  an  organi- 
zation become  corrupt,  adverse  to  the  word  of  God, 
it  becomes  a  duty,  if  it  will  not  heed  protests,  to  leave 
it,  and  under  a  changed  form  carry  on  its  work,  just 
as  Luther  did  in  the  Reformation.  He  left  not  the 
Church  of  God.  but  the  organization  of  Rome,  which 
had  the  form  of  godliness  but  not  the  spirit  thereof. 
To  him  the  Church  itself  was  precious. 

Whilst  we  acknowledge  the  Church  to-day  is  im- 
perfect, such  must  be  the  case  while  it  is  made  up  of 
imperfect  men.  whom  its  very  province  is  to  perfect. 
Even  a  gallery  where  every  picture  is  perfect,  and 
every  marble  faultless,  will  never  be.  But  the  Church 
of  to-day  does  bring  men  face  to  face  with  God  in 
Christ  Jesus.  It  continually  bears  witness  to  the  fact 
that  God  is,  and  that  He  is  present  with  men.   By  wor- 


276  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

ship  and  preaching  it  satisfies  man's  longing  to  worship 
God,  and  sustains  faith  in  Him.  It  does  stand  for 
righteousness.  It  boldy  speaks  to  the  conscience,  re- 
bukes sin,  and  exhorts  to  better  Hfe.  The  Church  is 
always  on  the  side  of  morality.  It  has  as  its  text-book 
the  Bible,  with  its  unsurpassed  morality,  and  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  example  of  righteousness.  It  is  on  the 
side  of  weakness  and  ignorance  and  innocence.  It 
even  insists  on  the  law  of  Christ  to  bear  one  another's 
burdens,  and  stimulates  the  unselfish  stewardship,  the 
sympathy  and  love  of  men.  It  educates  the  ignorant. 
It  protects  the  innocent.  It  has  hope  for  the  worst, 
and  will  not  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus  give  up  the  lost,  the 
miserable,  the  degraded,  but  seeks  and  does  save  them. 
It  does  exalt  Christ,  without  whom  none  can  come  to 
the  Father.  We  must  judge  the  Church  by  these  great 
tendencies,  even  from  a  human  standpoint. 

But  there  is  another  standpoint,  that  of  the  New 
Testament,  the  divine  standpoint.  The  study  of  The 
Acts  should  impress  us  with  the  necessity  of  the 
Church,  its  worship,  its  fellowship,  its  ministry,  its 
means  of  grace,  the  special  presence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  that  it  is  the  body  of  Christ,  that  its  special 
work  is  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  We 
should  never  forget  that  significant  verse,  "The  Lord 
added  to  the  Church  daily  such  as  were  being  saved." 
It  is  the  Lord's  will  that  everyone  should  belong  to  the 
Church,  that  it  is  His  training  school  where  men  are 
made  strong  to  do  His  will  on  earth,  gather  His  grace 
and  promises,  and  are  made  meet  for  the  inheritance 
of  the  saints  in  light.  In  the  words  of  Luther,  every 
Christian  should  say,  "I  believe  in  the  Christian 
Church  where  He  daily  forgives  abundantly  all  my 
sins  and  the  sins  of  all  believers,  and  will  raise  up  me 
and  all  the  dead  at  the  last  day,  and  will  grant  ever- 
lasting life  to  me  and  to  all  who  believe  in  Christ." 

We  should  also  recognize  that  the  Church  is  known 
through  her  membership,  through  their  lives  of  sym- 


GENERAL    RELIGIOUS   THEMES  277 

pathy,  love,  good  works,  sacrifice  and  righteousness. 
That  we  cannot  teach  others  to  prize  it  unless  it  be  dear 
to  us.  That  if  we  do  not  believe  in  its  divine  char- 
acter, that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  with  its  ministry  and  wor- 
ship, and  because  we  thus  believe  are  regularly  in  at- 
tendance upon  its  services,  the  world  will  not.  That 
if  we  do  not  prize  its  doctrines  as  taught  out  of  the 
Scriptures,  the  word  and  sacraments  as  God's  means 
of  grace,  its  fellowship  of  saints,  as  the  society  which 
the  individual  must  seek  if  he  has  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
and  if  he  would  give  and  receive  the  stimulus  of  Chris- 
tian love,  neither  will  others  prize  the  Church. 

In  view  of  all  this,  it  should  be  our  constant  aim 
as  teachers  to  impress  upon  our  scholars  the  worth, 
value  and  divine  character  of  the  Church,  that  by  their 
own  act  they  should  join  it  as  believers  in  Christ, 
and  that  they  need  its  services,  teaching  and  fellow- 
ship, if  they  would  continue  faithful  to  Jesus,  their 
Lord  and  Saviour. 


PERSONAL  PERSUASION 

The  sermon  is  a  power.  The  results  of  the  past, 
the  results  of  to-day,  are  the  proofs  of  this.  Wherever 
the  voice  of  the  true  preacher  is,  there  someone  is 
convicted,  rebuked,  stirred  and  inspired.  Peter's  ser- 
mon brought  three  thousand  to  Christ.  Philip  preached 
in  Samaria  until  many  believed,  and  a  whole  city  had 
great  jo)^  In  our  day  almost  as  great  results  have 
followed  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  word  of  God. 

But  it  may  be  seriously  asked  whether,  with  a  large 
number  of  persons,  individual  work  is  not  more  re- 
quired than  the  sermon  to  the  many.  If  all  persons 
could  be  gotten  to  the  churches  or  halls  to  hear  the 
sermons,  less  individual  work  would  be  required ;  but 
the  constant  complaint  is  that  there  are  multitudes  who 
cannot  be  persuaded  to  listen  to  preaching  at  all. 
Some  very  pleasant  people  are  among  our  friends 
who  never  think  of  stepping  over  the  threshold  of  a 
church  except  on  rare  and  special  occasions.  These 
persons  are  not  opposed  to  the  church,  they  are  simply 
indifferent.  There  are  others  who  are  not  merely  in- 
different, but  antagonistic  to  the  churches,  or  incon- 
ceivably careless.  The  unchurched  mass,  despite  all 
efforts  to  minimize  it,  is  a  tremendous  fact.  Anyone 
who  keeps  his  eyes  open  knows  that  it  is. 

If  these  persons  are  to  be  reached,  it  must  be  by 
patient,  persistent,  individual  effort.  Sermons  -.vill 
never  reach  them,  because  they  do  not  hear  them. 
Someone  must  seek  them  out,  one  by  one,  and  persuade 
them  of  the  truth  in  Christ,  or  lead  them  to  attend 
church  where  they  will  receive  Him.  If  there  is  any- 
thing that  needs  to  be  pounded  into  the  heads  and  laid 
upon  the  hearts  of  Christians  it  is  this — that  now,  as 
never  before,  individual  eft'ort  is  required  with 
friends,  neighbors  and  acqaintances.     Great  stress  is 

278 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  279 

laid  upon  union  meetings  and  revivals,  but  these  draw 
but  a  fraction  of  the  unchurched.  Christians  attend, 
pray,  listen  to  thrilling  sermons,  to  stirring  hymns, 
and  enjoy  the  excitement  while  it  lasts,  and  then  sink 
back  into  their  wonted  lethargy. 

There  is  here  no  objection  made  against  special 
services,  but  the  special  services  fail  because  the 
Christians  do  not  go  out  among  those  who  are  not 
attending  services  and  bring  the  power  of  personal 
persuasion  to  bear  upon  those  whom  they  know.  That 
preacher  is  happy  who  is  multiplied  by  his  members, 
who  take  his  message  and  tell  it  to  this  individual  and 
that.  His  sermon  is  carried  by  them  beyond  the 
church  door  and  preached  to  the  world.  He  sets  on 
fire  a  hundred  preachers,  though  their  congregations 
have  but  one  hearer. 

Again,  "Certain  men  will  be  led  into  Christian  life 
and  service  only  by  patient  and  thoughtful  conver- 
sation with  someone  who  does  understand  the  truth 
of  Christ.  You  have  a  husband  or  a  son  or  a  friend 
who  is  not  living  in  the  kingdom ;  he  is  not  enjoying 
what  religion  contains  for  him.  You  stand  closer  to 
his  life  than  any  other  human  being.  You  can  do  what 
no  other  can."  It  is  this  which  makes  the  seriousness 
of  our  Christian  life.  If  Christ  censures  those  who 
did  not  feed  the  least  of  these  when  they  were  an  hun- 
gered, and  condemns  them  to  everlasting  death,  how 
can  we  hope  to  escape  if  we  fail  to  bring  Him,  the 
Bread  of  Life,  to  a  soul  that  is  an  hungered? 

It  will  readily  be  conceded  that  this  is  a  task  of 
no  ordinary  delicacy  and  difficulty.  One  cannot  talk 
about  religion  as  he  would  about  business  and  politics. 
It  cannot  be  made  common  without  losing  its  holi- 
ness. To  ask  wisely  and  effectively  about  a  man's 
spiritual  condition  requires  thought  and  judgment. 
The  hour  of  urging  upon  another  the  choice  of  Christ 
must  not  be  hastened  to  gratify  coarse  impatience. 

Yet  one  cannot  but  feel  that  Christ  had  no  such 


280  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

difficulty.  He  talks  as  easily  and  as  naturally  to  men 
about  themselves  as  we  talk  about  the  weather.  He 
leads  the  woman  of  Samaria  to  conviction  and  directs 
the  conversation  to  spiritual  ends,  as  we  might  speak  to 
another  about  success  or  failure  in  a  business  trans- 
action, or  on  a  question  of  town  history.  He  was  full 
of  His  mission.  He  was  near  to  God  and  full  of  love 
to  men.  The  one  great  thing  to  Him  was  the  kingdom 
of  God.  He  breathed  the  rare  air  thereof.  He  knew 
its  joy.  He  knew  its  absolute  necessity  to  men.  He 
could  talk,  therefore,  sincerely  and  naturally  concern- 
ing it,  and  lead  others  in  His  over-mastering  desire  for 
their  salvation  to  it. 

It  has  been  so  with  others.  They  could  talk  to  the 
many,  they  could  also  do  the  harder  thing  of  talking 
to  a  soul  face  to  face,  and  bring  to  bear  on  them  the 
power  of  personal  persuasion.  It  is  said  of  Hewit- 
son,  that  "One  time  he  was  passing  along  through  a 
village  and  saw  a  young  woman  standing  at  the  door 
with  her  child  in  her  arms.  He  stopped  to  speak  with 
her.  In  his  usual  grave  but  gentle  manner,  he  re- 
marked, 'How  safe  that  babe  feels  when  you  hold 
it  so !  The  believer  is  just  as  safe  in  the  arms  of 
Jesus.'  At  another  time  he  met  a  member  of  his  con- 
gregation whom  he  had  not  yet  visited.  In  response 
to  his  kind  inquiry,  she  told  him  she  lived  in  such  a 
place,  *in  the  room  up  stairs.'  Then  he  continued,  'Ah  ! 
well ;  I  hope  you  invite  the  Lord  Jesus  with  you ;  He 
used  to  live  in  an  upper  room  sometimes  at  Jerusalem, 
and  loved  to  meet  His  disciples  there.'  " 

When  men  live  close  to  God,  and  fellowship  with 
Christ  is  real,  there  will  be  such  vision  of  truth,  pre- 
cious and  necessary,  that  they  must  tell  it  to  others. 
It  will  find  its  way  to  the  lips.  They  will  watch  for  op- 
portunity to  make  known  their  treasure  to  others 
whose  life  and  happiness  depend  upon  its  reception. 
Even  men  full  of  the  world's  truth  must  make  it 
known.     The  last  political  campaign  illustrated  this. 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  281 

Men,  intensely  interested  in  the  questions  before  the 
country,  could  not  keep  quiet.  On  the  streets  they 
would  herald  their  views,  and  as  they  talked  others 
would  gather  until  the  sidewalks  were  sometimes 
blocked,  to  the  distress  of  those  who  would  pass.  Sil- 
ver and  gold  were  heard  on  the  cars,  in  the  home,  in 
the  factory,  wherever  men  gathered.  The  truth  pos- 
sessed them  (or  what  seemed  to  them  truth),  and 
face  to  face  men  talked  one  with  another.  The  men 
that  talk  intensely  the  Christ  are  men  who  have  caught 
a  sight  of  His  goodness  and  love,  of  Him  Himself. 

The  truth  must  be  used.  Diffidence  may  seal  the 
lips,  but  if  a  man  asks  God  to  help  him  make  Christ 
known  to  others,  it  will  be  overcome.  As  a  man  goes 
again  and  again  to  men,  he  will,  by  using  his  power, 
gain  greater  power  of  personal  persuasion.  Relying  on 
the  Holy  Spirit,  he  will  find  the  Spirit  making  for  him 
opportunities  to  do  personal  work,  teaching  him  with 
whom  to  speak  and  how  to  speak,  that  he  may  bring 
Christ  to  men  and  men  to  Christ. 

Nor  should  we  overlook  this  in  our  class-work. 
Whilst  we  speak  to  the  class  as  a  body,  we  ought  to 
bring  the  power  of  personal  persuasion  upon  each  of 
them  when  alone  with  them.  We  should  cultivate  their 
confidence,  that  they  may  reveal  to  us  their  troubles 
and  struggles,  and  teach  them  Him  who  is  their  ever- 
lasting Friend. 


EASTER  JOY 

Easter  day,  when  it  began,  found  the  disciples  sor- 
rowing even  unto  despair.  When  it  closed,  they  were 
glad  and  jubilant;  their  despair  had  given  place  to 
confident  hope.  What  caused  the  change?  There  is 
but  one  answer — the  resurrected  Jesus. 

We  say,  advisedly,  the  resurrected  Jesus,  rather  than 
the  resurrection.  He  had  been  to  them  a  dead  Christ, 
He  is  now  a  living  Christ — a  Christ  who,  not  alone, 
has  triumphed  over  death  and  the  grave,  but  lives  to 
be  their  friend,  knowing  their  troubles,  ready  to  sym- 
pathize, comfort  and  bless.  All  day  that  truth  was 
being  taught  them.  He  had  shown  Himself  to  the  sor- 
rowing Mary  Magdalene,  to  the  loving  women,  to  the 
broken-hearted  Peter,  to  the  two  hopeless  disciples  on 
the  way  to  Emmaus,  to  the  timorous  gathering  of  dis- 
ciples. At  every  appearance  there  was  a  message  that 
assured  them  of  life  that  had  resistless  command  of 
the  present  and  the  future ;  to  Mary  He  says,  "I 
ascend  to  the  Father" — He  goes  even  to  the  right  hand 
of  God;  to  the  women,  "In  Galilee  I  will  see  my 
brethren" — He  rules  the  future ;  to  the  two  disciples 
He  speaks  of  the  entrance  into  glory — He  lives  clothed 
with  glory  absolute ;  to  the  assembled  disciples  is  the 
word,  "Peace  be  unto  you" — thereby  giving  a  commis- 
sion absolute  and  divine,  as  the  Father's  to  Himself,  to 
be  His  ambassadors,  and  bestows  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  with  the  promise  of  power.  He  was  a  living 
Christ,  but  the  Lord  of  life,  who  should  ever  be  with 
them  with  all  power.    He  is  the  living  Lord. 

Such  a  Christ  is  the  source  of  gladness,  and  makes 
Easter  the  day  of  joy.  We  are  assured  by  it  that  He 
is  as  near  to  us,  with  all  sympathy  and  helpfulness,  as 
though  we  looked  upon  Him  face  to  face.  The  living 
Christ  is  the  source  of  joy  to  every  believer,  the  secret 

282 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  283 

of  a  hopeful  life,  and  the  powerful  means  to  kindle 
faith  in  others. 

"Dr.  John  Brown,  in  his  Yale  lectures  of  last  year 
upon  'Puritan  Preaching  in  England,'  tells  us  that  the 
late  Dr.  Dale  was  once  writing  an  Easter  sermon,  and 
when  half  way  through,  the  thought  of  the  risen  Lord 
broke  in  upon  him  as  never  before.  'Christ  is  alive,' 
I  said  to  myself.  'Alive  !'  and  then  I  paused.  .  .  .  'Can 
that  be  really  true ?  Living  as  really  as  I  myself  am?' 
I  got  up  and  walked  about,  repeating,  'Christ  is  living! 
Christ  is  living!"  At  first  it  seemed  strange  and  hardly 
true,  but  at  last  it  came  upon  me  as  a  burst  of  sudden 
glory.  ...  I  then  said,  'My  people  shall  know  it;  I 
shall  preach  about  it  again  and  again,  until  they  believe 
it  as  I  do  now.'  Because  of  this  resolve  and  effort  to 
present  Christ  to  his  people  as  a  living  Christ,  Dr.  Dale 
was  a  mighty  preacher.  Dr.  Bushnell  was  a  mighty 
preacher  for  the  same  reason.  He  said,  'I  know 
Jesus  Christ  better  than  I  know  any  man  in  Hartford.' 
Had  he  not  thus  known  Christ,  he  could  not  have 
written  the  sermons  found  in  his  volume,  'Christ  and 
His  Salvation.'  " 

The  peculiar  gladness  of  the  Christian  is  due  to  this, 
that  he  has  a  living  Saviour.  His  gladness  will  be  pro- 
portionate to  the  realization  of  this  truth.  His  work 
will  be  a  message  of  joy  as  he  carries  with  him  this 
truth,  and  will  make  him  mighty  in  deed  and  speech. 

There  is  a  second  element  of  joy  that  is  plain.  The 
sadness  of  this  world  arises  out  of  sin.  The  nobler  a 
man.  the  deeper  his  knowledge  of  himself,  the  greater 
the  sadness  that  is  his,  because  it  but  makes  him  con- 
scious of  his  own  innate  and  actual  sinfulness.  He 
is  condemned  by  his  own  conscience.  It  was  glorious 
for  Christ  to  arise,  but  Christ  could  say,  "Which  of 
you  convinceth  me  of  sin?"  His  life  was  spotless  and 
sinless.  Would  they  be  entitled  to  like  life?  the  sinning 
disciples   might   well   ask. 

Therefore,   Christ's   first   word   is   peace,   carrying 


284  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

with  it  forgiveness,  reconciliation  with  God,  salvation. 
And  that  they  might  know  how  all  this  was  possible, 
"He  showed  unto  them  His  hands  and  side."  The 
road  to  forgiveness  and  the  life  of  glory  was  through 
His  wounds.  Did  He  not  make  this  evident  in  His 
teaching  before  He  died,  though  they  could  not  under- 
stand it?  Did  He  not  announce  it  that  first  Easter 
day,  when  He  said  to  the  two  disciples,  "Ought  not 
Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things,  and  then  to  have 
entered  into  His  glory?"  Did  He  not,  when  He  spoke 
to  the  assembled  disciples,  as  Luke  intimates,  explain 
to  them  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should 
be  preached  in  His  name,  and  that  on  this  proclamation 
of  peace  He  sent  them,  even  as  the  Father  had  sent 
Him? 

Whether  they  grasped  all  this  on  the  first  Easter  day, 
we  know  not.  It  looks  as  if  they  had;  but  whether 
they  did  or  not,  it  is  a  source  of  gladness  to  us  that 
the  risen  Christ  was  the  crucified  Christ,  and  He  has, 
once  for  all,  put  away  our  sins  by  the  sacrifice  of  Him- 
self. He  made  no  mistake  when  He  chose  the  cross. 
It  was  the  way  to  save  us  from  sin.  The  Father  sets 
His  seal  to  the  proffered  salvation,  won  through  the 
cross,  when  He  raises  Him  from  the  dead.  Our  glad- 
ness is  also  in  this,  'T  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth." 

Once  again,  as  they  looked  upon  Him,  there  must 
have  been  recollections  of  all  that  He  had  said  about 
the  other  life,  that  where  He  is  there  they  shall  be, 
that  they  should  share  His  glory.  One  is  ever  experi- 
encing the  incompleteness  of  this  life ;  we  are  ever  be- 
ing disappointed.  We  dream  of  what  we  will  be  and 
do,  and  how  measureless  is  the  distance  between  what 
we  are  and  achieve  and  our  dream !  This  life  has  its 
joys  and  triumphs,  but  it  has  its  sorrows  and  defeats. 
Wrong  often  wins  the  victory  for  a  time,  and  our 
righteousness  is  of  no  avail. 

It  was  even  so  with  Christ.  He,  humanly  looked 
upon,  was  a  failure  when  success  and  responsiveness 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  85 

to  His  teachings  and  deeds  of  kindness  are  considered. 
He  is  rejected  by  the  rulers  and  His  own  nation,  He  is 
the  sport  of  the  cruel  and  the  wicked,  He  dies  in  the 
very  beginning  of  His  manhood,  young  and  strong. 
Without  the  resurrection  life  would  have  been,  even 
for  Him,  incomplete. 

And  yet  there  were  features  to  Him  that  we  have 
not.  He  was  righteous,  He  fulfilled  His  ideal,  He 
lived  a  marvelous  life  of  beauty.  He  had  nothing  to 
regret.  His  influence  as  a  mere  man  would  still  have 
been  great,  if  His  disciples  could  ever  have  plucked 
up  courage  to  tell  the  story  of  His  life  and  words, 
without  the  resurrection. 

But  our  lives,  how  they  contrast  with  His !  There 
is  no  strong  sense  of  righteousness,  no  fulfillment  of 
ideal,  no  beauty  of  life.  There  is  much  to  regret  and 
sorrow  over.  We  go  forward  to  death,  and  cry,  "Life 
is  a  mockery,  if  this  be  all." 

Here  is  the  completion.  The  life  of  Christ  is  the 
first  flowering  of  the  race  into  the  completeness  of 
life,  as  it  shall  be.  Men  have  said,  impressed  by  the 
incompleteness  of  this  present  life,  there  must  be 
another  life  beyond,  in  which  the  desires  and  stirrings 
of  heart  must  find  their  satisfaction,  in  which  the 
wrongs  of  this  world  must  be  rectified,  in  which  the 
righteous,  crucified,  tortured  and  killed  must  be 
crowned  with  glory  and  blessedness.  It  is  a  strong 
plea  for  another  life.  But  it  is  but  a  dream  until 
Christ's  radiant  figure  shines  across  the  black  night 
of  death,  and  reveals  the  glorious  day  of  that  land 
where  there  is  no  night  and  where  God  wipes  away 
all  tears  from  our  eyes. 

This  revelation  that  life  shall  be  complete  made  the 
disciples  glad  that  first  Easter  day,  gave  that  trium- 
phant, jubilant  tone  that  is  heard  in  all  their  trials 
and  sorrows.  Every  one  of  them  that  writes  has  great 
words  of  joy  that  throb  with  the  truth  that  their  lives 
shall  yet  be  rounded  and  complete,  their  dreams  of 


286 


LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 


perfection  reality.     "When  He  shall  appear,  we  shall 
be  like  Him." 

These  three  sources  of  joy  Easter  has — the  living 
Christ,  the  certainty  of  peace  with  God,  the  completion 
of  life.     Rejoice  and  be  glad. 


INTERESTING  TO  GOD 

A  young  girl  at  a  large  school  found,  at  the  end  of 
the  half  of  the  first  year,  that  she  had  no  special 
friend.  She  was  lonely  among  a  crowd  of  girls.  Think- 
ing the  matter  over,  she  concluded  that  she  was  not 
a  taking  person ;  that  there  was  nothing  special  about 
her,  nothing  in  which  somebody  was  not  better.  She 
was  an  average  girl,  and,  therefore,  her  overtures  of 
friendliness  toward  the  brighter  and  more  attractive 
girls  had  been  met  with  courtesy,  indeed,  but  with  in- 
difference. It  was  natural  that  they  should  not,  out 
of  a  hundred  classmates,  choose  an  uninteresting  one 
for  company. 

Her  conclusion  was  a  sound  one.  ''Nevertheless,  I 
have  my  life  to  live,  stupid  or  not.  There  must  be  a 
wav  to  do  it  usefully.  At  least  I  am  interesting  to 
God." 

The  peculiar  truth  of  the  last  sentence  pressed  itself 
home.'  The  divine  interest  should  not  be  "least,"  but 
the  best  of  all  things.  There  came  to  her  the  convic- 
tion of  a  real  presence,  shutting  out  loneliness  and 
enfolding  her  with  love  and  never-failing  companion- 
ship. 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  follow  the  change  that  re- 
sulted, the  unselfish  service  that  she  rendered  and  the 
devotion  she  thus  kindled  in  the  hearts  of  her  class- 
mates, but  our  purpose  is  rather  to  consider  the  truth, 
"interesting  to  God." 

It  has  a  personal  bearing  for  everyone.  Life  brings 
us  so  many  disappointments  concerning  our  associates. 
We  long  for  their  interest,  friendship  and  love,  and  we 
cannot  gain  them.  Life  has  many  disillusions  The 
acquaintance  never  takes  us  into  the  heart ;  the  ap- 
parent friend,  on  the  least  provocation,  drops  us  for 
another,  or  grows  angry  over  a  trifle,  and  will  have 

287 


288  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S,  ALBERT 

nothing  further  to  do  with  us.  Our  troubles  are  not 
interesting  to  those  whom  we  thought  loved  us.  They 
listen  with  ill-concealed  impatience,  and,  if  we  con- 
tinue the  recital  of  our  anxieties,  find  excuse  to  leave 
us,  and  take  great  precautions  to  avoid  us  ever  after. 
Sadly  we  reach  the  conclusion  they  are  not  interested 
in  us.  We  have  caught  their  fancy  for  the  moment, 
or  we  are  valuable  so  long  as  they  can  use  us,  or  help 
them  while  away  the  hours,  but  they  are  not  interested 
in  us  personally  so  as  to  share  our  sorrows,  bear  our 
burdens,  help  us  to  nobler  life,  when  it  means  thought 
and  trouble  to  themselves.  They  are  not  interested  in 
us. 

Perhaps,  if  we  probed  a  little  deeper  into  our  own 
hearts,  we  might  discover  that  we  sought  the  interest 
of  others,  but,  in  turn,  were  not  interested  in  them. 
At  least  we  do  not  grant  them  the  charity  that  think- 
eth  no  evil,  beareth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  en- 
dureth  all  things. 

The  consolation  remains  that  we  are  interesting  to 
God.  The  Lord  Jesus  makes  that  plain.  All  men, 
women  and  little  children  were  interesting  to  Him. 
The  range  of  individuals  that  absorbed  Christ's  inter- 
est is  wonderful  in  scope.  From  the  Israelite  without 
guile  to  the  blaspheming  thief  on  the  cross ;  from  the 
loyal  John  to  the  traitor  Judas ;  from  Mary  of  Beth- 
any, choosing  the  good  part,  to  the  woman  that  was  a 
sinner;  from  the  fishermen,  sound  in  body,  to  the 
loathsome  lepers,  His  interest  passed  without  any 
diminution  in  intensity,  patience  and  love.  There  is 
no  one  individual  that  cannot  find  someone  like  him- 
self in  the  Gospel  narratives  in  whom  Christ  was 
deeply  interested. 

God's  interest  is,  moreover,  a  never-failing  interest. 
One  of  the  lovely  truths  concerning  God  is  that  His 
presence  is  a  constant  presence.  Earthly  friends  are 
separated  from  us  by  the  body,  by  distance,  by  sleep 
and  weariness ;  but  He  is  ever  near  us,  and  His  pres- 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  289 

ence  folds  us  round  with  love  the  moment  we  turn  to 
Him.  Often  He  is  near  us  when  our  eyes  are  holden, 
as  when  He  stood  on  the  beach  at  Galilee  that  early- 
morn  and  looked  upon  His  disciples  toiling  in  vain. 
They  knew  Him  not. 

We  should  hold  fast  to  this  truth,  "interesting  to 
God,"  when  we  grow  lonely.  We  should  go  to  Him 
and  rest  our  cares  upon  Him,  catch  the  greatness  of 
His  love.  We  shall  come  away  strong  to  endure,  joy- 
ful in  heart,  and  we  shall  find,  through  His  blessing, 
the  human  sympathy  we  crave,  a  just  demand  of  the 
heart ;  we  shall  become  interesting  to  others. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  should  come  out  of  this 
truth  help  in  our  dealings  with  others  who  are  unat- 
tractive, even  positively  repellent.  Every  one  of  these 
is  "interesting  to  God,"  as  we  ourselves  are.  He  sees 
in  them  the  making  of  a  saint.  Were  our  love  to  God 
deeper,  and  had  a  little  of  that  insight  into  souls  that 
such  love  brings,  w^e  could  find  them  "interesting."  If 
we  are  laborers  for  Him,  to  whom  He  has  given  charge 
of  His  little  ones,  or  is  seeking  the  unsaved  through 
us.  this  would  change  our  treatment  of  the  unattractive 
and  unlovely  and  give  us  an  interest  in  them  that  might 
bring  them  to  penitence  and  faith,  or,  if  beginners  in 
Christ,  make  their  lives  nobler  and  more  Christlike. 

An  incident  in  the  life  of  a  noble  woman  of  Sweden 
may  fitly  close  this  study  and  aid  us  to  a  better  compre- 
hension of  its  truth.  She  had  opened  a  home  for 
crippled  and  diseased  children  for  whom  no  one  else 
cared.  She  received  about  twenty  of  the  poor,  un- 
fortunate little  ones.  Among  them  was  a  little  fellow 
only  three  years  old,  but  whose  looks  and  disease  made 
him  a  frightful  and  obnoxious  patient.  His  complaint 
had  worn  him  down  so  far  that  he  might  have  been 
said  to  be  a  living  skeleton.  His  body  was  covered 
with  sores  and  blotches.  His  constant  whining  and 
crying  gave  the  good  woman  more  worry  and  anxiety 
and  trouble  than  all  the  others.     She  washed  him,  fed 

19 


290  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

him,  nursed  him,  but  always  felt  repelled,  and  her 
feelings  often  showed  themselves  in  her  face.  She 
really  could  find  nothing  in  the  little  fellow  to  love. 

One  day  she  was  sitting  with  the  boy  in  her  lap, 
and  she  fell  into  a  sort  of  dozing  sleep,  and  in  that 
dreamy  state  she  thought  that  she  had  changed  places 
with  the  child,  and  that  she  was  the  sufferer,  only  she 
was  more  foul  and  more  repulsive  than  he  was.  Then,  in 
her  dream,  she  saw  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  leaning  over 
her  and  looking  tenderly  at  her,  and  with  a  look  on 
His  face  that  seemed  to  say,  "If  I  can  love  you  in  your 
awful  state,  surely  you  can  and  ought  for  my  sake 
to  love  that  poor  little  innocent  sufferer,  whose  only 
inheritance  from  his  parents  has  been  this  legacy  of 
suft'ering." 

She  started  up;  the  boy  was  looking  longingly  into 
her  face.  Overwhelmed  with  shame  and  grief  for  her 
previous  treatment  of  him,  and  now  feeling  tender 
compassion  for  him,  she  clasped  him  to  her  breast 
and  kissed  him  as  she  had  never  kissed  even 
her  own  baby.  With  startled  eyes  and  flushing  face 
the  boy  smiled  upon  her  sweetly,  with  a  smile  such  as 
she  had  never  seen  before.  The  boy  was  changed  too. 
He  understood  that  wonderful  transformation  in  the 
woman,  and  the  love  of  her  heart  made  him  forget 
to  be  peevish,  and  his  life  became  one  of  singular 
beauty  and  tenderness. 


IMMORTALITY 

The  longing  for  immortality  has  been  justly  held  to 
be  a  strong  argument  for  its  certainty.  Every  desire 
implanted  within  us  has  its  answer  in  the  world  about 
us.  The  longing  for  beauty  within  us  is  met  by  beauty 
without,  rich,  manifold,  everywhere  existent.  This 
thirst  for  immortality,  which  has  persisted  from  age 
to  age  and  among  all  people,  carries  with  it  the  pre- 
sumption that  it  will  be  satisfied. 

The  future  life  is  needed  also  to  round  out  and  com- 
plete this  life.  Those  who  live  the  largest  and  best 
life  are  those  who  know  that  they  have  realized 
but  a  tithe  of  the  powers  and  possibilities  in  them. 
Time  has  but  laid  a  foundation  ;  that  which  is  to  be 
built  is  yet  in  the  future.  Another  life  is  needed  to 
round  out  into  fullness  this  life.  When  very  old,  Victor 
Hugo  wrote : 

"I  feel  in  myself  the  future  life.  I  am  rising,  I 
know,  toward  the  sky.  The  sunshine  is  over  my  head. 
Heaven  lights  me  with  the  reflection  of  unknown 
worlds. 

"You  say  the  soul  is  nothing  but  the  result  of  bod- 
ily powers ;  why.  then,  is  my  soul  the  more  luminous 
when  my  bodily  powers  begin  to  fail?  Winter  is  on 
my  head  and  eternal  spring  is  in  my  heart. 

'The  nearer  I  approach  the  end  the  plainer  I  hear 
around  me  the  immortal  symphonies  of  the  worlds 
which  invite  me.  It  is  marvelous,  yet  simple.  It  is  a 
fairy  tale,  and  it  is  a  history.  For  half  a  century  I 
have  been  writing  my  thoughts  in  prose,  verse,  history, 
philosophy,  drama,  romance,  tradition,  satire,  ode, 
song— I  have  tried  all.  But  I  feel  that  I  have  not  said 
the  thousandth  part  of  what  is  in  me.  When  I  go 
down  to  the  grave  I  can  say,  like  so  many  others,  T 
have  finished  my  day's  work,'  but  I  cannot  say,  'I  have 

291 


292  LIFE  AND   WORKS  OF   CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

linished  my  life.'  My  day's  work  will  begin  the  next 
morning.  The  tomb  is  not  a  blind  alley.  It  is  a  thor- 
oughfare. It  closes  in  the  twilight  to  open  with  the 
dawn.  I  improve  every  hour  because  I  love  this  world 
as  my  fatherland.  My  work  is  only  a  beginning.  My 
v/ork  is  hardly  above  its  foundation.  I  would  be  glad 
to  see  it  mounting  and  mounting  forever.  The  thirst 
for  the  infinite  proves  infinity." 

If  we  had  no  more  to  go  upon  than  these  and  similar 
presumptions  for  immortality,  it  would  be  wisdom  to 
commit  ourselves  to  trusting  belief  in  immortality  as 
the  highest  we  know  in  regard  to  the  future.  To  give 
it  up  is  to  quench  a  hope  that  has  lit  the  pathway  of 
the  noblest  of  our  race  to  sacrifice,  to  duty,  to  death- 
less deeds.  It  has  been  the  inspiration  of  the  best  in 
literature  and  arts  and  religion.  It  has  given  to  man 
his  moral  worth.  When  it  has  been  relinquished,  man 
becomes  an  animal,  who  comes  from  earth  and  returns 
to  earth,  and  he  cries,  "Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to- 
morrow we  die."  Without  immortality,  the  tendency 
is  for  man  to  become  earthly,  sensual,  bestial.  In  the 
clear  consciousness  of  another  life,  when  man  shall  be 
judged  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  the 
soul  girds  itself  to  watchfulness  and  sobriety,  in  the 
conviction  of  victory  over  sin  and  death ;  there  is  the 
death  of  the  despair  that  life  struggling  for  truth  and 
right  is  vain,  there  is  the  birth  of  hope  that  every  toil 
and  battle  for  righteousness  will  be  crowned  with  re- 
ward. 

The  apostle,  however,  takes  us  out  of  the  shadow 
land  of  presumptions  into  the  bright  sunlit  land  of 
certainty  by  one  great  and  overwhelming  fact,  the 
resurrection  of  Christ.  That  takes  away  doubt  and 
gives  confidence.  It  does  more,  it  reveals  just  what 
immortality  is  and  under  what  conditions  the  body 
and  soul  shall  live  hereafter.  Of  the  body,  Paul  says, 
"It  is  sown  in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incorruption  ; 
it  is  sown  in  dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory ;  it  is  sown 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  293 

in  weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power ;  it  is  sown  a  natural 
body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body."  The  risen  Lord 
expresses  to  us  in  His  glorious  heavenly  life  not  only 
the  meaning  of  these  great  expressions  concerning  the 
body,  but  also  the  infinite  glory  of  the  spirit.  He  is 
the  firstfruits  of  them  that  slept. 

It  sometimes  seems  impossible  that  this  body  should 
be  the  seed  of  that  new  body.  Some  have  been  ready 
to  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  but  have 
scouted  the  idea  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  even 
though  that  body  be  a  spiritual  body. 

Is  it  so  strange  ?  We  are  constantly  discovering  how 
one  order  of  nature  gives  way  when  its  limits  are 
reached  to  another  and  higher  order  of  nature.  "For 
example,  the  telescope  has  been  developed  nearly, 
if  not  quite,  to  the  limits  of  clear — colorless — defini- 
tion which  are  fixed  by  the  laws  of  light.  If  our 
knowledge  of  the  number  of  stars  is  to  be  carried 
farther  than  the  eye  of  the  telescope  can  pierce,  we 
must  invent  a  new  instrument,  adapted  to  some  still 
higher  power  of  our  environment ;  and  this  our  as- 
tronomers have  found ;  for  they  have  availed  them- 
selves of  the  actinic  rays  which  lie  in  the  spectrum 
above  the  visible  rays — and  the  sensitive  photographic 
plate  exposed  to  the  skies  has  disclosed  the  existence 
of  stars  beyond  stars,  which  no  telescope  can  ever  re- 
veal." 

The  one  order  arises  naturally  out  of  the  other. 
When  the  new  conditions  of  immortality  possess  body 
and  spirit,  they  may  receive  new  powers  as  they  pass 
from  one  order  of  life  to  another. 

Someone  asked  Dr.  R.  L.  Dabney,  "Do  you  not  feel 
that  you  will  be  lost  in  heaven,  without  your  eyes  to 
see  and  your  ears  to  hear  and  your  tongue  to  speak?" 

"There  was  once  a  prisoner,"  he  replied,  "walled 
up  in  a  dark  and  gloomy  dungeon.  The  only  rays  of 
light  that  came  to  him  were  through  five  loopholes; 
these  narrow  slits  in  the  thick  wall  gave  him  all  the 


294  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

sight  he  had,  for  years  and  years,  of  earth  and  sky,  of 
the  glory  of  the  sun,  the  pale  beauty  of  the  moon,  the 
radiance  of  the  stars,  and  the  sweet  procession  of  the 
seasons.  But  there  came  a  day  when  a  great  earth- 
quake rent  those  walls,  and,  unhurt,  the  captive  stepped 
forth  to  freedom.  The  wide  sky  was  now  his ;  the 
far  reaches  of  mountain  and  valley ;  the  illimitable 
sea.  On  every  hand  his  eye  drank  in  beauty  and  de- 
light.    Do  you  think  he  missed  the  five  loopholes?" 

Is  this  not  a  perfect  illustration  of  what  our  five 
senses,  like  the  narrow  slits  in  the  wall,  do  for  the 
souls  imprisoned  in  our  natural  bodies?  And  shall 
we  dread  the  earthquake  of  death  that  is  to  rend  our 
dungeon  and  let  us  out  to  the  infinite  expanse  of  the 
spiritual  world  ?  There  the  body  as  it  is  now  will  give 
place  to  a  glorified  body,  which  will  possess  all  that 
was  essential  in  the  old  body,  but  will  be  incorruptible, 
glorious,  powerful  and  spiritual,  like  unto  Christ's  own 
risen  body.  The  present  order,  having  reached  its 
limit,  will  give  place  to  the  higher  order. 

It  is  well  for  us  that  we  have  the  great  historical 
witness  to  immortality  in  Christ's  resurrection.  Yet 
it  is  not  enough  to  know  this  fact  intellectually.  The 
resurrection  becomes  glorious  and  inspiring  alone  when 
we  realize  that  to  obtain  the  victory  over  death,  we 
must  obtain  the  victory  over  sin,  its  sting,  its  agony, 
and  that  to  obtain  the  victory  over  sin  we  must  know 
Christ  as  our  Saviour,  and  by  faith  enter  into  fellow- 
ship. Otherwise  immortality  brings  but  gloom  to  the 
sinner,  for  it  becomes  a  future  life  of  sorrow  and  grief 
and  despair,  infinite  in  duration. 

Entering  into  fellowship  with  Jesus,  we  learn,  by 
sweet  experience.  He  lives.  Our  inward  certainty  con- 
firms the  historical  fact.  We  know  that  "My  Re- 
deemer liveth,  and,  because  He  lives,  I,  too,  shall  live." 


I 


PRESUMPTION 

The  first  attitude  of  the  child  of  God  to  his  heav- 
enly Father  is  the  attitude  of  trust  that  confidently  be- 
lieves His  ways  are  right  and  patiently  awaits  His 
time.  To  attempt  to  dictate  to  God  what  should  be 
done  and  how  it  should  be  done  is  presumption,  the 
very  thing  Satan  tempted  Christ  in  the  wilderness  to 
do  after  he  had  been  defeated  in  his  first  attempt  to 
persuade  Him  by  His  miraculous  power  to  turn  the 
stones  into  bread  to  satisfy  His  hunger. 

By  the  second  temptation  Satan  sought  to  persuade 
Jesus  to  forsake  the  way  the  Father  appointed  to  Him 
and  dictate  to  God  the  method  of  showing  to  the 
people  that  He  was  the  Son  of  God.  Satan  tempted 
Jesus  to  throw  Himself  down  from  the  pinnacle  of  the 
temple  in  order  that  He  might  force  God,  the  Father, 
to  rescue  Him  by  the  hands  of  angels,  that  they,  sup- 
porting Him.  might  bear  Him  up  that  He  might  defy 
the  ordinary  law  of  descent  and  place  Flis  feet  as 
gently  on  the  stones  beneath  as  though  He  had  stepped 
from  one  to  another,  as  He  walked  on  the  pavement 
of  the  court.  Subtly  the  tempter  suggests  that  "If 
Thou  art  the  Son  of  God,"  Thou  wilt  thus  prove  to 
others  that  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God.  He  insinuates 
that  the  wonderful  trust  in  the  Father  Jesus  had  shown 
about  His  hunger  and  refusal  to  eat  any  bread,  except 
such  as  the  Father  willed,  should  perfectly  express 
itself  in  something  unusual,  extraordinary  or  heroic. 
The  Jews  were  prejudiced  and  hard  of  heart.  An  act 
like  this  would  convince  them  He  was  the  Messiah, 
and  they  would  readily  believe  in  Him  and  become 
His  followers.  The  temptation  to  forsake  the  quiet 
methods  God  had  ordained  and  adopt  something  start- 
ling, calling  attention  to  Himself  and  forcing  belief, 

295 


296  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

was  very  great.  But  it  was  presumption  and  the 
devil's  method. 

Christ  met  the  temptation,  which  had  Scripture  ap- 
parently in  its  favor,  by  saying,  "Thou  shalt  not  tempt 
the  Lord  thy  God,"  another  Scripture  which  inter- 
preted the  Scripture  quoted  and  made  clear  its  limita- 
tions. To  tempt  God  is  to  distrust  God,  to  test  His 
power  presumptuously  in  secret  unbelief.  For  Jesus 
to  have  cast  Himself  down  was  to  distrust  God's  ways 
to  bring  in  His  kingdom  and  forsake  them,  to  presume 
upon  God's  promises  by  placing  Himself  in  danger 
needlessly,  and  for  the  sake  of  popular  applause  to 
display  His  faith  in  working  wonders. 

We,  too,  are  tempted  to  presume.  To  seek  to  ob- 
tain by  worldly  means  religious  ends,  or  to  build  up 
churches  and  Sunday  schools  by  sensational  methods, 
or  to  catch  the  populace,  or  cater  to  fashion  or  wealth, 
is  presumption.  It  is  to  dictate  to  God  how  His  king- 
dom is  to  be  built  up,  scorning  His  ordained  methods. 
A  man  like  Dowie  is  certainly  presumptuous.  Yet  are 
not  many  in  lesser  measure  guilty  of  presumption  also 
in  their  methods? 

Men  are  presumptuous  who  neglect  God's  ordinary 
laws  and  then  demand  His  aid  and  protection.  If  ordi- 
narily Jesus  had  wished  to  descend  from  the  pinnacle 
of  the  temple  He  would  have  used  the  ordinary  method 
— He  would  have  descended  by  steps,  and  not  on 
angels'  wings.  All  through  His  life  the  use  of  the 
ordinary  is  manifest.  He  could  walk  on  the  water. 
Once  He  did  this ;  ordinarily  He  uses  a  boat  to  cross 
the  sea.  He  could  raise  the  daughter  of  Jairus  to  life, 
but  afterward  He  does  not  feed  her  supernaturally 
when  the  ordinary  suffices,  but  orders  those  about  her 
to  give  her  something  to  eat.  He  and  those  who  fol- 
lowed Him  never  used  the  extraordinary  when  the 
ordinary  sufficed.  Paul,  who  healed  others,  was  ready 
to  seek  the  aid  of  Luke,  the  physician,  in  the  ordinary 
life.      Christian   science,   faith-healing,   that  have   no 


GENERAL    RELIGIOUS    THEMES  297 

use  for  ordinary  means  and  neglect  them  in  ordinary 
cases,  yield  to  the  very  temptation  which  Christ  re- 
jected. Extraordinary  emergencies  may  require  ex- 
traordinary methods,  but  not  ordinary  ones,  is  the 
clear  teaching  of  Christ's  example;  usual  sicknesses 
are  to  be  dealt  with  by  usual  means.  Faith  is  not  to 
set  aside  God's  usual  methods. 

It  is  presumption,  again,  to  thrust  ourselves  into 
dangers  to  which  the  Lord  does  not  call  us  and  expect 
the  Lord  to  save  us  from  them  when  we  pray.  But  if, 
in  the  way  of  duty,  a  believer  comes  into  the  same 
danger,  he  can  confidently  call  upon  the  Lord.  He 
who  goes  out  in  a  leaky  boat  upon  the  sea  in  a  fierce 
tempest  for  bravado  cannot  expect  God  to  care  for 
him ;  but  he  who  is  there  at  the  call  of  duty  can  ex- 
pect His  aid,  as  the  disciples  in  the  storm  on  the  lake 
of  Galilee.  A  man  must  not  go  into  the  places  of 
drink  when  he  is  weak  in  that  direction,  or  he  must  go 
dow^n.  So  must  men  act  toward  every  other  besetting 
sin.  We  are  not  to  court  danger  that  God,  rescuing 
us,  may  show  that  we  are  His  children.  Such  outward 
advantage  is  the  mortal  injury  of  the  life  of  the  soul 
within.  It  is  the  wounding  of  faith,  the  stimulating 
of  unbelief  and  trust  in  self.     We  must  not  presume. 

An  old  story  well  illustrates  this :  A  Christian 
woman,  trusting  to  be  preserved  by  her  principles,  ven- 
tured into  a  place  of  questionable  character,  and  came 
back  "possessed."  When  the  exorcist  asked  the  evil 
spirit  how  he  dared  to  enter  into  a  Christian,  his  an- 
swer was.  "\\'hy  not,  when  I  found  her  upon  my  own 
ground?" 

Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  in  extraordinary  cases  we 
may  call  upon  God  in  humble  trust  to  aid  and  deliver 
us.  Thus  Luther,  when  Melanchthon  was  at  the  point 
of  death,  believing  that  he  was  necessary  to  the  work 
of  the  kingdom,  besought  God  with  such  fervor  and 
agony  of  petition  that  Melanchthon  was  restored  to 
health.    This  was  not  presumption,  but  the  faith  that 


298  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

humbly  lays  hold  on  God's  promises  and  pleads  for 
fulfillment. 

One  may  see  this  still  further  illustrated  in  the  ex- 
perience of  Hudson  Taylor:  When  the  famous  mis- 
sionary first  went  to  China,  it  was  in  a  sailing  vessel. 
Very  close  to  the  shore  of  the  Cannibal  Islands  the 
ship  was  becalmed,  and  it  was  slowly  drifting  shore- 
ward, unable  to  go  about,  and  the  savages  were  eagerly 
anticipating  a  feast.  The  captain  came  to  Mr.  Taylor, 
and  besought  him  to  pray  for  the  help  of  God.  "I 
will,"  said  Taylor,  "provided  you  set  your  sails  to  catch 
the  breeze."  The  captain  declined  to  make  himself 
a  laughing-stock  by  unfurling  in  a  dead  calm.  Taylor 
said,  "I  will  not  undertake  to  pray  for  the  vessel  unless 
you  will  prepare  the  sails."  And  it  was  done.  While 
engaged  in  prayer,  there  was  a  knock  at  the  door  of  his 
stateroom.  "Who  is  there?"  The  captain's  voice  re- 
sponded, "Are  you  still  praying  for  wind?"  "Yes." 
"Well,"  said  the  captain,  "you  'd  better  stop  praying, 
for  we  have  more  wind  than  we  can  well  manage." 
And,  sure  enough,  when  but  a  hundred  yards  from  the 
shore,  a  strong  wind  had  struck  the  sales  of  the  boat, 
so  that  the  cannibals  were  cheated  out  of  their  human 
prey. 

In  all  our  life,  let  us  not  presume  to  dictate  to  God 
what  He  should  do,  or  the  methods  He  should  use  to 
build  up  His  kingdom.  His  ways  may  seem  to  us 
strange  and  slow  to  realize.  But  in  results  the  way  of 
the  pinnacle  is  not  the  way  of  the  cross  Jesus  saw 
clearly.  The  cross  was  the  true  way  of  success.  Even 
so  now,  not  by  wonders  will  men  be  saved,  but  by 
God's  word  faithfully  taught  and  followed  will  they  be 
won  and  the  kingdom  permanently  established. 

Our  prayer  should  be  the  Psalmist's  prayer,  "De- 
liver Thy  servant  from  presumptuous  sins."  Our 
eflFort  should  be  to  follow  the  Saviour's  example  and 
not  tempt  the  Lord  our  God. 


THE  IMPERFECT  CHURCH 

The  weaknesses  of  the  Church  and  the  imperfect  lives 
of  church  members  form  favorite  subjects  for  those 
who  are  not  Christians.  Perhaps  none  are  so  pain- 
fully aware  of  the  short-comings  of  the  churches  and 
members  as  the  true-hearted  members  themselves.  The 
very  ideal  they  possess  and  the  clearer  vision  of  the 
spiritual  reveals  to  them  the  blots  and  stains  of  Church 
and  membership.  Nor  do  they  merely  see  these  faults 
in  others,  but  they  lament  that  they  themselves  fail  to 
realize  the  truth  as  they  know  it. 

The  Church  on  earth  has  never  been  perfect.  We 
dream  of  the  Apostolic  Church  as  that  which  realized 
the  Master's  thought.  But  our  lessons  show  the 
Church  then  imperfect.  There  was  the  quarrel  about 
the  ministrations  to  the  widows  between  the  Grecians 
and  the  Hebrews  which  took  a  congregational  meet- 
ing to  decide.  The  Church  at  Antioch  is  divided  by  the 
brethren  who  came  down  from  Jerusalem  and  pro- 
claimed to  the  Gentiles,  "Except  ye  be  circumcised,  ye 
cannot  be  saved."  It  needed  a  Church  conference  to 
settle  that.  The  Corinthian  Church  was  split  into 
parties  and  some  contemptuously  spoke  of  Paul,  whilst 
the  whole  Church  permitted  vicious  practices.  The 
Church  has  never  been  perfect  in  any  of  the  ages  since 
then,  and  all  of  us  from  experience  can  say  it  is  not 
perfect  now. 

It  is  made  up  of  imperfect  men.  Were  there  better 
material  there  might  be  a  better  Church.  The  Church 
takes  into  its  care  imperfect  men,  weak  men,  bad  men. 
and  seeks  to  bring  them  to  perfection  by  training  and 
discipline.  The  army  is  made  up  of  awkward  squads. 
The  earthly  army  may  train  its  awkward  squads 
quickly  into  splendid  soldiers  because  they  have  good 
bodies,  but  the  Church  army  finds  the  recruits  to  be 

299 


300  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

possessed  of  diseased  souls,  which  need  not  training 
alone,  but  also  health,  or,  as  we  say  scripturally,  sanc- 
tification. 

But  with  all  that,  the  Church,  fairly  considered,  is 
a  world-wide  advance  upon  anything  else.  It  gives 
every  one  of  its  members  a  great  object  in  life.  A 
great  object  is  necessary  to  a  great  life.  To  be  without 
it  a  man  is  like  a  ship  without  a  rudder,  drifting 
purposelessly.  With  a  great  object,  every  faculty  of 
his  mind,  every  power  of  his  soul,  every  opportunity 
life  presents,  must  be  brought  into  activity  that  it  may 
be  accomplished.  To  be  the  child  of  God  is  that  object, 
and  what  that  child  must  be  is  known  clearly,  for  it  is 
to  be  like  Christ  Jesus.  No  man  can  have  an  object 
like  that  without  being  lifted  up  and  without  lifting 
up  his  fellow-men  about  him. 

But,  it  may  be  urged,  cannot  one  have  that  great  ob- 
ject outside  of  the  Church?  It  may  be  possible,  but  it 
is  not  the  testimony  of  experience.  The  men  outside 
the  Church  are  not  pursuing  this  great  object.  "No 
man,"  it  has  been  well  said,  "will  have  God  for  his 
Father  in  heaven  who  refuses  to  have  the  Church  for 
his  mother  upon  the  earth.  He  who  has  no  portion  in 
the  Church  militant  upon  earth  shall  never  share  in  the 
glories  of  the  Church  triumphant  above ;  for  there  is 
the  closest  union  between  these ;  God,  the  Word,  faith, 
Christ,  the  Church,  life  eternal."  Whilst  God's  mercy 
may  extend  to  some  outside  the  Church,  His  Church 
is  His  established  institution  for  His  children. 

Always  it  follows  that  those  who  rightly  use  the 
Church,  her  worship,  her  means  of  grace,  are  lifted 
up  into  rightness  of  life  and  richness  of  character. 

Roundell  Palmer,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  law- 
yers and  statesmen  of  England,  went  to  London  and 
hired  a  set  of  chambers  in  Lincoln's  Inn.  This  inn 
maintains  a  chapel,  with  church  services.  His  rooms 
were  on  the  chapel  staircase,  close  to  the  entrance  of 
the  chapel.     His  father,  a  clergyman,  wrote  to  him: 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  301 

"Let  me  add  my  injunction  that  you  may  still  remem- 
ber it  is  the  chapel  staircase,  and  that  you  consider 
yourself  as  dwelling  within  the  sacred  precinct,  and 
that  you  suffer  no  business  hereafter,  nor  other  pre- 
tence of  man,  to  desecrate  the  time,  and  deprive  you  of 
the  seventh  day's  rest." 

Many  years  afterward  Roundell  Palmer  writes : 
"Surrounded  as  I  was  in  those  days  by  most  of  the 
elements  of  earthly  happiness,  I  was,  nevertheless,  not 
at  peace  with  myself.  I  had  then,  and  for  years  after- 
ward, sensible  experience  of  that  conflict  between 
flesh  and  spirit  which  St.  Paul  describes.  I  was  at 
once  engaged  in  a  continual  struggle  with  evil  spirits, 
reasserting  their  power  as  often  as  they  seemed  to  be 
cast  out. 

"I  was  regular  and  sincere  in  the  observance  of  re- 
ligion. I  was  mindful  of  my  father's  advice  not  to 
forget  that  I  lived  next  door  to  the  chapel,  in  which 
there  was  daily  service,  and  not  to  let  business  or  any- 
thing else  encroach  upon  the  Lord's  Day,  set  apart 
for  religion  and  rest.  Once  I  broke  in  upon  that  day 
upon  a  supposition  of  necessity,  when  there  was  none ; 
I  never  did  so  afterward  without  a  real  necessity, 
which  our  Lord's  own  precept  and  example  would 
have  warranted." 

Can  there  be  any  doubt  but  that  the  Church  made 
him  truer,  nobler,  and  enlarged  his  usefulness  and  in- 
fluence, as  well  as  kept  him  a  Christian  ? 

The  Church  is  God's  appointment.  Christ  loves  the 
Church,  as  a  husband  a  wife;  in  the  Church  is  the  Holy 
Spirit,  with  His  light,  help  and  revelation ;  in  the 
Church,  the  means  of  grace,  the  ministry  of  reconcil- 
iation, the  fellowship  of  the  saints,  with  inspiration 
and  comfort.  God  the  Father,  Son,  the  Holy  Ghost, 
is  there  with  special  blessing.  Can  any  man  afford  to 
lose  all  these  because  the  men  are  imperfect,  but  in 
God's  hand  to  be  perfected? 

Look  at  the  Godward  side  as  well  as  at  the  manward 


302  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

side.  Tennyson  was  once  talking  to  Maurice  about  the 
book  of  Ecclesiastes.  Tennyson  said  that  he  could  not 
understand  its  admission  among  the  sacred  books;  it 
was  utterly  pessimistic,  of  the  earth,  earthy.  Maurice 
fired  up.  "Yes,"  said  he,  "if  you  leave  out  the  last 
two  verses ;  but  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  is, 
'Fear  God  and  keep  His  commandments ;  for  this  is 
the  whole  duty  of  man.  For  God  shall  bring  every 
work  into  judgment,  with  every  secret  thing,  whether 
it  be  good  or  whether  it  be  evil.'  So  long  as  you  look 
upon  the  earth  all  is  'vanity  of  vanities.'  But  if  you 
look  up,  there  is  a  God,  the  Judge  of  good  and  evil." 

It  becomes  us  to  look  Godward  as  well  as  manward. 
He  is  the  secret  of  the  strength,  endurance,  richness, 
joy  and  hope  of  the  Church.  There  may  be  imperfect 
men  in  it,  hypocrites  even,  but  they  cannot  debar  His 
blessings  from  those  who  are  steadfast  and  true. 

In  the  beautiful  words  of  John  Gerhard  in  "Sacred 
Meditations" :  "The  holy  Church  of  God  sustains  the 
relations  of  mother,  virgin,  bride.  She  is  as  a  mother, 
because  she  daily  bears  spiritual  sons  to  God.  She  is 
as  a  chaste  virgin,  because  she  keeps  herself  pure  from 
all  unholy  alliances  with  the  devil  and  the  world.  She 
is  as  a  bride,  because  Christ  hath  betrothed  her  to 
Himself  by  an  eternal  covenant,  and  hath  given  to  her 
the  pledge  of  the  Spirit.  The  Church  is  that  ship 
which  carries  Christ  and  His  disciples,  and  which  will 
bear  us  finally  into  the  haven  of  eternal  blessedness; 
the  Church  thus  sails  in  a  blessed  course  over  the  sea 
of  this  world,  furnished  with  faith  as  a  rudder,  hav- 
ing God  as  her  pilot,  angels  as  her  oarsmen,  and  all 
the  company  of  the  godly  as  her  passengers ;  on  her 
deck  is  erected  the  cross  of  our  salvation  as  her  mast, 
upon  which  are  suspended  the  sails  of  evangelical 
faith,  and  with  these  filled  with  the  breezes  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  she  is  conducted  to  the  haven  of  eternal  rest." 

May  we  so  love  the  Church  and  abide  faithful  that 
we  may  come  at  last  to  the  Church  triumphant  above. 


WELLS  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

The  Israelites  had  been  travehng  in  the  wilderness 
of  Shur  for  several  days.  After  leaving  Marah,  whose 
bitter  waters  had  miraculously  been  made  sweet,  their 
next  halt  was  at  Elim,  where  there  were  twelve  wells 
of  water  and  three  score  and  ten  palm  trees ;  and  they 
encamped  there  by  the  waters.  To  these  weary  hosts, 
who  had  been  traveling  through  the  wilderness,  ex- 
posed to  the  blinding  sun,  how  delightful  must  have 
been  the  sight  of  this  oasis  in  the  desert,  as  worn  and 
exhausted  they  approached  its  palms  and  its  wells  of 
cool,  refreshing  water. 

The  traveler  who  has  plodded  along  for  hours,  finds 
nothing  so  refreshing  as  the  water  that  assuages  his 
burning  thirst  and  revives  his  spent  strength.  He 
blesses  the  man  that  dug  the  well.  He  rejoices  over 
the  spring  whose  waters  burst  forth  and  run  over  the 
pebbles  with  sweetest  music  to  the  thirsty  traveler. 

There  are  in  nature  and  history  objects  which  be- 
come aptest  illustrations  in  life,  its  trials,  its  reliefs  and 
its  joys.  Water  stands  for  refreshment  and  gladness, 
the  journey  of  the  Israelites  for  the  journey  of  life. 
The  wilderness  comes  to  the  vast  majority.  Its  way 
of  pitiless  heat,  barren  prospect,  wearing  toil,  is  the 
way  trodden  by  the  spirit.  But,  there  are  Elims  to 
which  these  worn  and  broken  wayfarers  can  be  led, 
where  under  the  palm  trees  and  by  the  wells  of  water 
they  may  rest,  renew  their  strength,  and  in  that 
strength,  and  with  memory  of  the  blessed  hours  spent 
there,  go  joyously  on  through  the  wilderness  to  the 
goal. 

It  is  the  great  privilege  of  the  thoughtful  to  guide 
the  tired  to  these  wells  in  the  wilderness  of  their  lives. 
This  summer,  we  saw  a  little  child  taken  a  trip  on  the 
electric   car  by  her  mother.     The  child   was   plainly 

303 


304  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

dressed.  The  outing  was  a  rarity.  The  httle  face  was 
all  aglow.  A  lovely  excitement  made  the  body  quiver 
with  joy.  Every  mile  of  the  way  was  intensely  en- 
joyed. Into  that  child's  life  had  come  the  well  in  the 
wilderness. 

Earlier  in  the  summer,  on  one  of  our  great  rail- 
roads, we  traveled  with  a  group  of  children  from  one 
of  our  cities,  who  were  being  sent  by  the  Fresh  Air 
Fund  workers  hundreds  of  miles  into  the  unknown 
country,  amid  its  birds,  flowers,  fields,  with  all  its 
changing  wonders,  wells  of  water  and  palm  trees,  to 
these  little  travelers  in  the  desert  of  poverty  and  bitter 
circumstances. 

Instances  like  these  indicate  better  than  arguments 
how  we  may  guide  others  to  the  wells  in  the  wilderness. 
There  may  be  those  who  have  a  hunger  for  books, 
but  who  must  travel  their  life's  journey  with  but  an 
occasional  glimpse  into  the  pleasant  gardens  of  the 
poets,  the  essayists,  the  historians.  To  give  such  an 
one  a  volume,  even  to  loan  them  a  book,  is  to  open  a 
well  in  the  wilderness  to  them. 

Or  to  detect  in  some  untutored  mind  the  unconscious 
want,  and  to  guide  it  to  the  goal  of  its  desire  by  giving 
means  and  opportunities,  this  is  even  more.  To  lead 
the  boy  or  man  with  scientific  bent  to  the  knowledge 
of  nature ;  to  teach  the  struggling  naturalist  how  to 
observe  the  birds,  the  flowers,  the  wild  creatures  of  the 
woods,  the  gorgeous  butterflies ;  or  to  disclose  to  the 
music-loving  the  capabilities  of  harmony,  to  thrill  their 
souls  with  exquisite  pleasure  by  revealing  the  great 
masters  of  music  to  them,  this  is  to  guide  to  wells  in 
the  wilderness  of  their  lives. 

How  many  opportunities  of  this  nature  may  be 
found!  The  shut-in,  those  who  tread  the  wilderness 
of  pain,  may  be  comforted  by  visit,  by  thoughtful  re- 
membrances ;  the  tired  worker  by  opportune  words 
of  cheer;  those  out  in  the  wilderness  of  temptation 
by  sympathy,  by  loving  warnings,  by  the  ringing  words 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  305 

of  promise  for  those  who  overcome.  No  opportunity 
is  greater  in  fact  than  our  own  as  Sunday  school  work- 
ers, leading  our  scholars  to  the  wells  of  God's  word, 
and  teaching  them  how  to  turn  their  feet  there  when 
the  wearying  and  exhausting  journeys  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  worldly  occupations  make  the  spirit  languid 
and  ready  to  perish. 

How  beautifully  all  this  is  illustrated  by  Paul  in 
the  storm  !  For  days  and  nights  they  have  been  driven 
by  the  gale ;  the  ship  was  leaking  and  unmanageable, 
they  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  tempest,  the  raging  sea 
threatened  to  swallow  them  up.  Hope  had  fled ;  they 
ate  no  food,  for  death  was  nigh,  and  in  sullen  despera- 
tion they  waited  the  end.  Then  Paul  stood  forth  and 
cried,  "Be  of  good  cheer,"  and  with  confident  voice 
and  trustful  face,  declared  God's  promise  unto  him 
and  unto  them  that  they  should  be  saved.  Sweeter 
even  than  the  wells  and  the  palm  trees  in  the  wilder- 
ness to  the  Israelites  were  these  tidings  to  the  spent 
crew  and  despairing  passengers  of  the  ship.  Unspeak- 
ably sweet,  too,  must  have  been  Paul's  joy  that  because 
of  the  surrender  of  himself  to  God  and  his  service  of 
Him,  this  message  was  his  to  give  these  hopeless  ones. 

Perhaps,  if  we  realized  these  things  more,  much  of 
our  ordinary  work  might  be  glorified.  The  tired  day- 
teacher,  guiding  the  scholars  along  the  ways  so  tire- 
some that  lead  to  the  wells  in  the  wilderness,  might 
renew  courage  as  the  thought  that  all  this  weary  drill 
of  books  and  lessons  was  opening  the  way  to  waters 
which  should  refresh  them  in  life's  trying  journey. 
The  mother,  spent  with  labor  and  thought,  might  be 
uplifted  when  she  reflected  that  in  the  years  to  come 
these  children  of  hers  would  not  only  have  these  mem- 
ories, but  her  example,  her  tender  love,  her  teachings, 
would  spring  up  as  wells  of  water  all  through  their 
lives.  The  teachers  of  the  Bible  might  cheer  them- 
selves in  despondent  hours,  by  the  knowledge  that  their 
scholars  in  after  years  would  return  to  these  wells  they 

20 


306  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

had  opened,  and  rest  by  them  with  grateful  recollec- 
tions of  those  who  taught  their  feet  the  way  out  of  the 
wilderness  to  the  palms  and  refreshing  waters. 

Some  time  ago  the  son  of  a  minister,  long  since 
dead,  revisited  the  church  where  fifty  and  more  years 
ago  his  father  preached.  An  aged  woman,  sitting  in 
the  pastor's  Bible  class,  after  the  lesson  was  finished, 
walked  over  to  the  son  and  said,  "I  must  shake  your 
hand.  Your  name  is  dear  because  of  your  father.  He 
catechised  me.  Those  teachings  of  his  I  have  never 
forgotten.  They  have  come  back  to  me  all  through 
my  life,  and  made  me  what  I  am.  For  what  he  was 
to  me,  I  could  not  let  you  go  without  shaking  your 
hand  and  telling  you  what  I  owe  to  him."  The  son 
has  had  this  testimony  often.  He  himself  remembers 
the  earnest,  loving  teachings  of  the  godly  man.  With 
tears  this  faithful  servant  of  God  would  urge  the 
young  to  receive  their  Saviour  and  to  follow  His  steps, 
and  patiently  he  would  teach  them  the  great  principles 
and  duties  of  the  Christian  life.  Because  of  him,  in 
the  wilderness  of  this  earthly  life,  many  found  their 
way  to  the  fountain  of  living  waters. 

After  all,  Jesus  Christ  is  the  well  of  water  whose 
springs  are  in  God,  that  everyone  may  drink  and  live. 
He  alone  will  satisfy  the  soul.  The  man  that  drinks 
of  other  waters  shall  thirst  again,  even  as  the  Israelites 
after  they  left  Elim.  But  he  that  drinks  of  the  waters 
of  salvation  Christ  gives  hath  in  him  a  well  of  water 
springing  up  into  everlasting  life.  There  shall  be  to 
him  in  all  life's  journey  that  which  satisfies  the  thirst 
of  the  soul,  renews  its  powers,  gives  rest  and  blessed- 
ness, and  makes  the  soul  strong  to  finish  its  course 
with  joy. 


SIGNS  OF  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT 

The  word  of  Christ  is:  "Except  a  man  be  ])orn  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  the  kingdom 
of  God."  Again,  He  teaches  us  that  His  disciples  know 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  that  He  dwelleth  in  them  and  shall 
be  in  them.  The  Holy  Spirit  begets  life  in  the  Chris- 
tian and  is  with  him  constantly. 

The  earnest  soul  must  ask:  "Am  I  born  again?" 
Many  curious  answers  have  been  given  to  the  question. 
The  most  common  one  is,  this  is  the  proof — a  change 
definite  in  time ;  a  sudden  change,  of  which  the  normal 
type  is  the  conversion  of  a  man  that  has  grown  up 
to  years  of  discretion  in  carelessness  and  sin ;  who  is 
convicted  of  sin,  repents,  agonizes  and  suddenly  real- 
izes the  peace  which  comes  by  faith  in  Christ.  Unless 
a  man  can  point  to  such  a  time  and  struggle,  he  is  not 
born  again,  although  his  life  be  a  life  of  faith. 

There  is  truth  here,  a  truth  which  must  never  be 
given  up,  that  conversion  is  possible  to  the  sinner,  a 
conversion  that  is  definite  in  time  and  marks  the  transi- 
tion from  a  life  of  sin  to  a  life  of  righteousness  in 
Christ.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  those,  notably 
many  of  those  baptized  in  infancy  and  nurtured  in  the 
Lord,  who  turn  from  self  and  the  world  to  God,  the 
essence  of  conversion,  so  gradually  that  they  never 
can  tell  the  time  when  this  took  place.  Among  these 
latter  have  been  some  of  the  noblest  and  best  of  Chris- 
tians. 

It  is  of  much  more  importance,  therefore,  to  seek 
to  know  whether  we  have  life  in  Christ  through  the 
Spirit,  than  to  know  just  when  we  turned  from  self 
and  the  world  to  God.  ^^  hat,  then,  are  the  signs  that 
the  Spirit  dwells  within  us? 

There  are  signs  that  are  variable,   and   there   are 

307 


308  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

signs  that  are  constant,  as  Meyer  points  out.  Among 
the  varying  signs  are : 

First.  The  joy  of  reahzation  of  salvation  in  Christ. 
This  varies.  Sometimes  the  joy  is  overpowering, 
sometimes  like  the  ebbing  tide.  Feeling  is  not  the  sure 
ground  of  assurance. 

Second.  Agony  for  souls.  The  desire  that  others 
should  share  the  blessed  salvation,  a  desire  that  con- 
sumes the  soul  and  urges  to  toil  and  forgetfulness  of 
all  other  issues.  "Christ,  however,  only  asks  us  to 
watch  in  Gethsemane  one  hour."  Otherwise  this  agony 
would  be  insupportable  to  the  believer. 

Third.  Access  in  prayer.  They  that  have  the  Spirit 
are  mighty  in  prayer,  but  not  always.  As  Meyer 
says :  "Sometimes  the  vision  is  face  to  face ;  at  others, 
though  we  grasp  as  in  Jacob's  night-wrestle,  we  can- 
not behold.  Like  Esther,  we  seem  to  wait  in  the  ante- 
chamber. As  the  lark,  of  which  Jeremy  Taylor  speaks, 
we  rise  against  the  east  wind." 

Fourth.  The  openings  of  Scripture.  The  Spirit 
opens  our  eyes  to  the  wondrous  things  in  the  law,  to 
those  things  which  are  spiritually  discerned.  Then  the 
Scripture  is  exceedingly  precious.  But,  there  are  times 
when  its  pages  awake  little  response  in  the  dull  soul 
of  him  that  believes. 

Fifth.  The  pressure  of  temptation.  It  is  a  marked 
characteristic  of  the  Christian's  experience  that  there 
are  periods  when  temptation  loses  its  power,  when  he 
is  so  happy  in  his  faith  and  living  for  Christ,  that  he 
dreams  that  he  need  no  longer  struggle.  But  at  the 
foot  of  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  is  ever  the  trial 
as  of  old,  and  always  temptation  returns,  sometimes 
as  suddenly  "as  the  fury  of  the  storm,  when,  after  an 
hour's  cessation,  it  takes  the  mariner  unawares."  All 
these  signs  are  variable  and  cannot  be  relied  upon  to 
give  the  quiet  assurance  that  the  believer  needs. 

These  are  constant:  First.  The  consciousness  of  be- 
ing God's.    This  is  the  result  of  faith.    It  begins  with 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  309 

faith,  but,  as  we  continue  faithful,  the  consciousness 
grows  stronger  and  stronger  that  we  are  God's ;  that 
He  loves  us  and  keeps  us.  Luther  declared  that 
through  faith,  "Thou  mayest  with  all  joy  and  comfort 
exclaim  I  am  Christ — not.  indeed,  personally,  but 
Christ's  righteousness,  victory,  life,  and  all  that  He  has 
is  mine  own ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  Christ  may  say, 
'I  am  this  poor  sinner — that  is,  all  his  sins  and  death 
are  my  sins,  and  my  death,  inasmuch  as  he  clings  to 
me  and  /  cling  to  him.'"  The  Spirit  dwells  within  ns 
when  we  trust  to  God's  faithfulness,  truth  and  love, 
and  not  to  self,  or  our  faith,  or  anything  else.  The 
outward  evidence  will  be  delight  in  worship,  public  and 
private,  since  therein  the  believer  expresses  his  grati- 
tude to  God  and  seeks  that  holding  of  God  which  is 
his  confidence.  His  word  will  be  sought  because  it 
is  the  word  of  the  God  of  love  and  salvation. 

Second.  The  supremacy  of  Jesus  in  the  heart.  The 
Spirit's  presence  is  manifested  by  breaking  down  the 
rule  of  self  and  exalting  Christ  until  more  and  more 
He  rules  us.  "There  is  no  longer  the  double  empire 
of  self  and  Christ,  as  in  the  poor  Indian,  who  said  to 
the  missionary,  T  am  two  Indians,  good  and  bad' ;  but 
there  is  the  undivided  reign  of  Christ,  who  has  put 
down  all  rule  and  authority  and  power,  as  in  the  case 
of  Martin  Luther,  who  said,  'If  anyone  should  ask  of 
my  heart,  who  dwells  here?  I  should  reply,  not  Martin 
Luther,  but  Christ.'  "  The  outward  evidence  of  this 
will  be  the  obedience  that  springs  from  love.  His 
commands  will  be  precious.  The  Lord's  Supper  will 
be  esteemed  and  desired,  not  alone  that  we  may  re- 
member and  honor  Him,  according  to  His  command, 
but  that  through  it  we  may  enter  into  intimate  fellow- 
ship with  Him  and  be  nourished  spiritually  by  this 
means  of  grace,  whereby  we  are  brought  into  fuller 
union   with   Him. 

Third.  Peace.  When  the  Holy  Spirit  rules  there  is 
the  peaceful  heart,  which  contentedly  looks  upon  the 


310  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF   CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

future  without  alarm,  because  He  is  with  us  and  will 
shape  all  things  aright.  Again,  there  rises  out  of  this 
peace  the  humility  that  will  not  insist  upon  its  own 
will  because  it  knows  that  He  will  choose  the  best. 

Fourth.  Love.  Love  rules  the  heart  where  the 
Spirit  is,  nor  must  we  think  merely  of  love  to  God, 
but  of  love  to  men,  all  men,  those  in  our  house- 
hold, those  in  our  neighborhood,  even  those  who  are 
not  naturally  lovable.  There  comes  a  love  like  the 
love  of  Christ.  It  may  not  possess  us  entirely,  but  it 
is  a  growing  love.  "Where  love  reigns  in  the  inner 
chamber  of  the  soul,  doors  do  not  slam,  bells  are  not 
jerked  violently ;  soft  tones  modulate  the  speech,  gentle 
steps  tread  the  highways  of  the  world,  bent  on  the 
beautiful  work  of  the  messengers  of  peace,  and  the 
very  atmosphere  of  the  life  is  warm  and  sunny  as  an 
aureole.  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  indwelling  Spirit 
where  there  is  this  outgoing  love." 

Fifth.  Deliverance  from  the  love  and  power  of  sin. 
The  world  cannot  understand  what  is  the  joy  of  the 
Christian  life,  nor  its  precious  treasures.  Neither  do 
we  know  the  love  of  Christ,  the  delight  of  righteous- 
ness, the  joy  of  doing  good,  the  crown  beneath  the 
sacrifice,  the  blessedness  of  peace,  the  satisfying  fel- 
lowship with  God  until  the  Spirit  reveals  them.  So, 
likewise,  the  sinful  desires,  pleasures  and  triumphs  of 
the  world  grow  distasteful  to  the  believer  in  whom 
the  Spirit  dwells.  There  is  l^egotten  an  increasing  de- 
sire for  purity.  He  dies  daily  to  sin.  It  grows  hateful 
to  him.  He  rises  to  righteousness  of  life.  "There  is 
still  a  positive  rain  of  smut  and  filth  in  the  world 
around ;  there  is  the  recognition  of  the  evil  tenden- 
cies of  the  self-life,  which  will  assert  themselve  unless 
graciously  restrained,  but  triumphing  above  all  is  the 
purity  of  the  indwelling  Lord,  who  Himself  becomes 
in  us  the  quality  for  which  holy  souls  eagerly  long." 


EMOTION  AND  ACTION 

Those  start  life  witli  a  decided  advantage  who  are 
naturahy  responsive  to  the  claims  of  others  and  to 
the  better  sentiments  of  honor  and  truth.  A  man  who 
is  sympathetic  is  disposed  to  be  kind,  pleasant  in  man- 
ners, helpful.  His  feelings  are  easily  roused  and  led 
to  action,  which  action  in  turn  forms  a  lovable  char- 
acter. A  man  who  responds  to  the  sentiments  where 
thought  and  feeling  Ijlend  is  material  for  the  patriot, 
the  loyal  follower,  the  man  of  honor,  of  truth,  the  man 
heroically  devoted  to  a  cause  or  principle.  All  that  he 
needs  when  his  emotions  are  stirred  is  to  follow  on 
to  be  a  patriot,  or  any  one  of  these.  His  emotions  are 
not  alone  the  natural  preliminaries  to  action,  but  im- 
pelling forces  thereto. 

There  is,  however,  a  disadvantage,  for  the  emotions 
roused  may  not  crystalize  into  deed.  The  man  of 
sentiment  may  thus  become  a  sentimentalist,  one  who 
takes  his  feelings  to  be  the  evidences  that  he  is  really 
good  when  he  has  not  the  slightest  claim  to  goodness. 
Indeed,  emotions  that  are  not  carried  out  in  acts  are 
characteristic  of  superficial  people,  and  when  made 
the  usual  life  cause  a  heart  of  hardness.  Outwardly 
distressing  circumstances  may  move  such  to  tears, 
whilst  inwardly  the  heart  remain  dead,  like  the  Rus- 
sian lady  who  wept  over  the  woes  of  some  fictitious 
personage  in  a  play  while  her  coachman  froze  to  death 
outside.  To  this  Jesus  alludes  when  He  speaks  of  the 
grain  that  fell  on  the  rock,  which  speedily  sprang  up 
but  then  withered  away  because  it  lacked  moisture, 
meaning  thereby  those  emotional  people  who  receive 
the  word  with  joy,  but  in  time  of  temptation  fall  away. 
A  heart  of  rock  oft  lies  underneath  the  easily  stirred 
emotions. 

It  is  one  of  the  curious  phases  of  human  nature  that 

311 


312  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

men  are  continually  satisfying  themselves  with  emo- 
tional talk  whilst  their  deeds  are  directly  opposed  to 
their  words.  "Rousseau,  who  inflamed  by  his  elo- 
quence all  the  mothers  of  France  to  personally  care 
for  their  own  children,  sent  his  own  children  to  the 
foundling  hospital."  Conduct  like  that  persisted  in 
hardens  the  heart,  leads  to  cruelty,  though  the  speaker 
easily  moved  to  tears  by  his  own  words  fancies  himself 
unusually  tenderhearted. 

One  reason  for  this  is  that  abstract  good  glows 
with  wonderful  beauty,  rousing  the  emotions,  but  ab- 
stract good  is  difficult  to  recognize  under  the  vulgar 
conditions  of  this  workaday  world,  in  which  it  becomes 
concrete.  When  Jesus  Christ  calls  upon  anyone  to 
minister  unto  Him  the  emotions  are  roused.  The 
listener  is  inclined  to  do  anything  that  is  asked  by  Him, 
but  as  Jesus  is  not  here,  he  does  nothing,  felicitating 
himself  on  his  responsiveness  to  His  call.  Jesus  is 
here,  but  He  is  here  under  very  common  and  vulgar 
conditions.  He  is  to  be  found  in  the  garb  of  the  poor 
and  suffering,  in  the  men  and  women  and  children, 
many  of  whom  are  trying  and  vexatious,  in  need  of 
His  word,  and  love,  and  help.  It  is  all  so  unromantic, 
every-day  and  troublesome  that  under  these  common 
garments  the  Master  is  not  seen.  Is  not  this  what  the 
Lord  means  when  He  says  at  the  judgment,  "I  was 
an  hungered  and  ye  gave  me  no  meat;  thirsty,  and  ye 
gave  me  no  drink ;  sick  and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited 
me  not"?  For  when  they  indignantly  disclaim  this 
neglect,  He  adds,  "Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  unto  one 
of  the  last  of  these,  ye  did  it  not  unto  me."  They 
could  not  see  Him  under  the  vulgar  garb  of  these 
every-day  people. 

It  is  very  dangerous  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  life 
to  indulge  in  emotions  without  an  issue  into  concrete 
deed.  Possibly  one  of  the  greatest  curses  of  theatre 
going  and  novel  reading  is  the  constant  excitement  of 
the  emotions  without  giving  any  opportunity  to  real- 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  313 

ize  in  action  the  emotion  roused.  Everything  in  play 
and  novel  is  bent  to  the  excitement  of  the  emotional 
nature,  and  oft  along  praiseworthy  lines.  The  hate- 
fulness  of  wrongdoing,  the  serpent  hiss  of  slander, 
the  curse  of  avarice,  the  cruelty  of  ambition,  the  hell  of 
lust,  are  depicted  with  such  fidelity  that  indignation 
rises ;  whilst  the  nobleness  of  unselfishness,  the  grand- 
eur of  sacrifice,  the  heroism  of  patriotism,  the  charm 
of  purity,  the  beauty  of  virtue,  are  described  in  im- 
passioned words,  so  heightened  by  the  art  of  the  drama 
or  literary  expression  that  the  heart  is  inflamed.  When 
these  emotions  do  not  become  acts  the  hearers  are  not 
benefited,  but  injured,  tend  to  become  less  responsive 
to  the  virtues  inculcated,  and  at  last  even  skeptical 
concerning  their  reality.  Life  is  a  play  in  which  men 
feign  goodness.  Precisely  the  same  result  may  arise 
from  the  hearing  of  sermons  that  by  their  eloquence 
touch  the  emotions.  Because  the  tear  readily  trickles 
down  the  cheek  over  the  pathetic  words,  or  the  glow 
of  admiration  swells  the  breast  over  the  picture  of 
the  beauty  and  deathless  love  of  Christ,  the  hearers 
consider  themselves  good.  Emotion  is  taken  for 
action.  Until  emotion,  however,  passes  into  action 
there  is  no  Christlike  character,  for  that  character 
forms  when  truth  and  right  are  carried  into  practice 
for  His  sake,  and  in  no  other  way.  So  thoroughly 
impressed  is  a  great  thinker  with  the  danger  of  emo- 
tions that  do  not  pass  into  practice  that  he  says :  "The 
remedy  would  be  never  to  suflFer  one's  self  to  have 
an  emotion  without  expressing  it  afterward  in  some 
active  way.  Let  the  expression  be  the  least  thing  in 
the  world — speaking  genially  to  one's  grandmother, 
or  giving  up  one's  seat  in  a  street  car  if  nothing  more 
heroic  offers,  but  let  it  not  fail  to  take  place." 

The  apostle  says,  "Whatsoever  ye  do  in  word  or 
deed,  do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  He  is 
anxious  that  these  Colossian  Christians  should  not  di- 
vorce their  feelings  and  their  acts,  that  goodwill  or  fine 


314  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

emotions  should  find  expression  in  their  every-day  life. 
It  is  just  this  which  makes  the  religion  of  Christ  the 
character  builder  it  is.  It  not  only  offers  in  the  Church 
a  vast  field  where  the  emotions  can  become  embodied 
in  acts,  through  its  works  of  benevolence  and  charity, 
through  its  fellowship  and  friendly  deeds  to  men  in 
and  out  of  the  Church,  through  its  long  list  of  Chris- 
tian activities,  its  Sunday  school  teaching,  the  quiet 
and  ceaseless  patience  and  sacrifice  required  to  do 
good ;  but,  also,  it  is  its  teaching  that  all  things  can  be 
done  in  the  name  of  Christ,  not  a  deed,  nor  a  work, 
nor  a  study,  nor  a  plan,  nor  a  pleasure  that  cannot  be 
done  in  His  spirit. 

It  is  well  that  it  should  be  so.  There  is  nothing  that 
so  stirs  the  emotions  as  the  religion  of  Christ,  for 
that  religion  is  Christ ;  Christ  the  one  altogether  lovely, 
the  good,  the  great,  the  truth,  the  love  of  God ;  Christ, 
who  was  so  patient,  tender,  helpful ;  whose  life  was 
sacrifice,  whose  death  was  the  supremest  act  of  love 
the  world  has  ever  known ;  Christ,  who  has  widened 
the  vision  of  earth  until  it  sweeps  within  its  ken  heaven 
and  glory  and  blessedness ;  Christ,  who  has  revealed 
that  God  is  our  Father,  and  the  unfathomable  truth 
that  we  sinners  are  again  His  sons,  forgiven,  loved. 
His  heirs,  joint-heirs  with  Christ,  the  Only-Begotten. 
Surely  there  is  nothing  so  stirs  the  emotions  as  these 
incomparable  truths.  He  has,  therefore,  made  pro- 
vision to  realize  these  emotions  in  deed.  He  calls  to 
a  life  of  obedience,  righteousness,  love,  nobleness  and 
beauty  like  His  own,  a  life  that  begins  in  and  has  much 
to  do  with  His  Church,  but  which  the  Great  Teacher 
tells  us  is  to  be  lived  also  right  here  in  this  workaday 
world,  in  all  that  concerns  our  doing,  where  we  change 
our  emotions  into  acts,  and  thus,  through  faith  in  Him, 
build  a  character  like  His. 


THE  CHOICEST  GIFT 

The  estimate  we  place  on  the  value  of  gifts  is  a  vari- 
able one.  At  tirst,  perhaps,  we  count  by  the  material 
value,  the  money-cost,  but,  as  we  grow  wiser,  we  place 
the  gift  which  comes  from  the  heart  as  higher  than 
that  of  the  purse.  When  David  longed  for  a  drink  of 
the  water  of  the  well  at  Bethlehem,  the  well  of  his 
childhood,  his  three  mighty  men  broke  through  the 
Philistine  host  at  the  peril  of  their  lives  and  drew 
water  out  of  the  well,  and  took  it  and  brought  it  to 
David.  He  would  not  drink  it,  but  poured  it  out  to 
the  Lord,  for  it  was  no  mere  water,  but  water  that 
spoke  of  love  so  great  that  because  of  it  these  three 
heroes  put  in  jeopardy  their  lives  that  he,  whom  they 
loved,  might  have  his  wish  fulfilled.  The  only  one 
worthy  of  so  precious  a  gift  was  God.  David's  act, 
like  a  gleam  of  light  that  touches  a  jewel  until  it  blazes 
with  glory,  reveals  the  kingly  nobility  of  his  heart,  rich 
and  resjionsive  to  every  good.  So  as  we  ourselves 
come  into  nobility  of  heart  and  perception  of  the  finer 
emotions  and  spiritual  realities,  we  see  that  the  precious 
gift  may  be  a  cup  of  cold  water,  because  behind  it  is 
the  noble  spirit,  the  unselfish  love.  It  may  seem  strange 
to  some  that  Christ  lays  so  much  stress  on  a  cup  of 
cold  water  given  to  a  disciple  in  His  name,  but  it  seems 
reasonable  to  the  man  who  sees  in  it  a  cup  of  cold 
water  and  love  for  Christ.  It  is  a  sign  of  the  heart 
— a  heart  that  is  true  to  the  Master  and  filled  with  His 
spirit.     Reward  is  its  right. 

Of  all  the  brothers  of  Napoleon,  the  man  that  loved 
him  most  deeply  was  his  older  brother  Joseph.  The 
child  that  was  born  to  Napoleon  was  the  heart  of 
Napoleon's  own  heart.  Napoleon  entrusted  him  to 
Joseph  when  he  was  dethroned.  When  he  was  dying, 
one  of  his  last  words  was,  "I  trust  my  boy  to  Joseph." 

315 


316  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

It  was  the  gift  of  his  heart,  the  complete  confidence  of 
love.  Joseph  had  been  given  the  richest  gifts — jewels, 
a  crown,  but  he  said,  "This  is  the  choicest  gift,  the  gift 
of  my  brother's  heart.  I  am  ready  to  die  for  his  son 
whenever  I  am  called  upon." 

This  Christmas  time  brings  back  our  thought  to 
God's  gift  of  His  only-begotten  Son.  He  had  given 
much  to  men.  The  world  has  in  it  so  much  of  pleas- 
ure, riches,  beauty  and  knowledge  that  some  have  been 
content,  at  least  for  a  season,  with  it.  God  gives  these 
out  of  love,  but  His  inmost  heart  is  in  the  gift  of  Christ. 

Something  of  God  may  be  learned  outside  of  Christ. 
There  are  truths  outside  of  the  Bible  even.  Men  of 
heathen  religons  have  in  their  teachings  set  forth  hints 
of  God,  which  they  have  caught  from  the  world  He 
made,  and  the  human  life  that  shadows  the  divine  life, 
even  though  darkened  by  sin.  Yet  these  teachings  were 
imperfect,  mixed  with  evil.  How  could  God  teach  men 
Himself,  His  nature.  His  love.  His  mercy.  His  truth, 
unless  He  Himself  would  walk  before  men  and  they 
could  see  Him  visible,  not  hidden  in  heaven  and  past 
finding  out?  Christ  came.  God's  Son  became  flesh, 
and  in  Him  God  is  seen. 

He,  the  almighty  King,  gave  His  Son,  the  heart  of 
His  heart,  the  choicest  gift,  the  gift  of  love.  Well 
does  the  Apostle  cry,  "Thanks  be  unto  God  for  His 
unspeakable  gift."  Love  laughs  at  all  attempts  to  put 
into  words  its  worth.  There  never  was  a  poet  who 
spoke  beautifully  and  profoundly  of  love,  that  satis- 
fied anyone  who  loved  that  his  words  fully  compassed 
the  height  or  depth  or  breadth  or  length  of  the  love 
he  knew  in  the  depths  of  the  heart.  Love  eludes 
definition  or  description.  They  that  love  alone  know 
love. 

If  this  be  true  of  our  human  love,  who  can  know  the 
love  that  God  gave  when  He  sent  His  Son?  He  is 
infinite  and  His  love  is  infinite.  Every  earthly  love,  in- 
deed, has  in  it  something  that  may  lead  to  some  un- 


GENERAL    RELIGIOUS   THEMES  317 

derstanding  of  His  love.  The  love  of  parent  to  child, 
the  love  that,  seeing  only  by  sacrifice  another  can  be 
saved,  freely  spending  itself  for  him,  the  love  that 
sends  a  son  to  die  for  the  liberty  of  his  land,  the  love 
that  dares  death  on  foreign  shores  that  others  may 
know  the  truth  of  God — all  these  do  set  forth  some- 
what of  the  love  God  had  when  He  gave  His  Son 
for  us,  yet  all  infinitely  fall  short  of  that  love.  Still 
these  gifts  of  sacrificing  love  men  hold  the  choicest 
gifts  that  men  can  give.  Those  who  loved  like  this 
are  the  names  men  count  precious  and  reverently  re- 
peat to  their  children  and  point  to  as  the  crest  of  the 
floodtide  of  human  excellence.  The  choicest  gift  is, 
therefore,  Christ. 

Sometimes  we  wonder  at  the  music,  the  jubilant 
music  of  the  angels,  on  that  first  Christmas  day.  We 
think  how  there  laid  before  Jesus  the  life  of  misun- 
derstanding, ingratitude,  opposition,  hatred,  awful  re- 
jection and  death.  All  that  bitter  life  was  before  the 
babe  cradled  on  Mary's  breast,  and  yet  they  sang  as 
though  no  cloud  should  ever  pass  over  the  sky  of  His 
earthly  life.  The  overwhelming  display  of  God's  love 
in  this  gift,  by  its  glory,  made  this  as  naught.  Perhaps, 
because  they  knew  He  would  sufifer  and  die,  they  sang 
the  more,  for  love  that  suffers  for  another  is  the  high- 
est love,  and  love  that  never  suffers  is  but  a  poor  thing 
at  best.  Even  our  own  Christmas  would  be  but  a  poor 
thing  if  we  knew  not  of  Calvary.  We  measure  God's 
gift  by  the  cross,  just  as  John  in  that  wonderful  third 
chapter  sees  the  glory  of  God's  love,  because  "As 
Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  w^ilderness,  even  so 
the  Son  of  man  must  be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal 
life."  Then  follow  the  undying  words,  "God  so  loved 
the  world  that  He  gave  His  only-begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life." 

\\'hat,  then,  at  this   Christmastide   does   reflection 


318  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES   S.  ALBERT 

show  that  we  have  done  as  evidences  of  our  gratitude? 
Here  is  God's  choicest  gift,  the  outpouring  of  His  love. 
What  has  been  the  return  to  Him  from  us?  There 
are  things  we  never  can  do.  He  gives  us  freely  our 
forgiveness,  our  redemption,  our  sonship,  our  needed 
grace,  our  eternal  glory.  But  He  does  ask  us  to  give 
Him  our  trust,  life  and  service.  Through  these  He 
would  bring  others  to  see  the  glorious  gift  of  His  love. 
If  God  then  gave  His  Son  for  our  sins,  in  complete 
confidence  of  love  He  now  gives  His  Son  into  our 
keeping  to  make  Him  known  to  others.  He  trusts  us 
with  His  interests  and  His  kingdom,  as  Napoleon 
trusted  Joseph  with  his  son,  to  look  after  his  interests 
and  bring,  if  possible,  the  kingdom  to  him. 

It  may  be  that  it  will  cost  us  something  to  care  for 
Christ  and  His  kingdom,  but,  despite  all  demands, 
there  is  joy  for  us  in  all  the  self-denials,  just  as  Christ 
had  joy  in  enduring  the  cross  and  despising  the  shame. 
"At  a  missionary  meeting,  when  some  young  teachers 
were  to  start  for  foreign  fields,  the  prayers  and  remarks 
of  the  speakers  were  full  of  tearful  allusions  to  the 
hardships  and  sacrifices  of  the  undertaking,  until  one 
young  missionary  spoke  for  herself :  'Don't  pity  me,' 
she  said,  almost  with  a  touch  of  impatience,  T  am 
doing  what  I  want  to  do :  I  go  joyfully !'  "  That  is  the 
right  spirit.  Take  hold,  in  gratitude  for  God's  choicest 
gift,  of  the  work  He  gives  you  to  do.  In  the  doing  of 
it  will  come  joy,  a  joy  such  as  Christ  had,  a  joy  that 
has  its  roots  in  the  Christmas  rejoicing  that  "Unto  you 
a  Saviour  is  born  this  day,"  but  a  joy  that  flowers  all 
the  year  and  sings  the  angelic  song  always.  If,  like 
all  that  belongs  to  this  life,  the  joy  be  not  perfect,  it 
will  be  "in  that  day."  These  words,  therefore,  may 
well  be  the  motto  of  many  who  would  be  grateful  to 
God  at  this  Christmastide : 

"You  must  live  each  day  at  your  very  best; 
The  work  of  the  world  is  done  by  few ; 
God  asks  that  a  part  be  done  by  you. 


GENERAL    RELIGIOUS    THEMES  319 

"Have  a  purpose,  and  do  it  with  your  utmost  might; 
You  will  finish  your  work  on  the  other  side, 
When  you  wake  in  His  likeness,  satisfied." 


THE  CERTAIN  FUTURE 

Easter  has  always  been  exalted  by  the  Christian 
Church.  A  portion  of  it  may  have  protested  against 
the  day,  because  it  thought  the  observance  of  it  was 
Romanistic,  but  the  fact  of  Easter,  the  resurrection, 
was  as  precious  and  comforting  to  the  Puritan  as  to 
the  observer  of  the  day.  The  day  itself  and  its  ob- 
servance are  not  the  great  things,  though  they  may 
help  to  impress  upon  the  heart  the  resurrection  of 
Christ  from  the  dead.  The  fact  itself,  with  its  pro- 
found message,  is  the  great  thing. 

Humanity  has  always  held  stubbornly  to  the  belief 
that  there  is  another  life.  It  has  held  fast  to  this 
against  odds  that  appeared  almost  invincible.  Multi- 
tudes passed  away,  yet  none  ever  came  back  to  tell 
the  sad  survivors  that  he  lived  again,  and  lived  in 
blessedness.  Despite  this,  humanity  persisted  in  the 
belief  of  the  future  life. 

There  cannot  be  any  doubt  that  his  very  necessities 
compelled  man  to  this.  He  needed  this  future  to  give 
him  courage  for  and  fidelity  to  the  right.  I  was  much 
struck  with  this  in  the  reading  of  "The  House  of  Nol- 
fings,"  by  Morris.  The  hero,  who  can  save  his  life 
if  he  will  wear  the  magic  armor  procured  for  him  by 
his  wife,  a  daughter  of  the  wSun,  will  not  wear  it  in- 
deed, since  there  goes  with  this  safety  the  destruction 
of  the  people.  He  cannot  bear  the  thought  that  in  the 
future  men  shall  talk  of  him  as  one  who  chose  to  live 
in  shame  rather  than  to  die  a  hero  in  defence  of  his 
people.  But  this  future  is  not  enough ;  there  is  the 
strong  faith  that  if  he  dies  a  hero,  he  will  gloriously 
enter  Walhalla  and  sit  down  to  the  banquet  of  the 
gods.  Therefore,  he  strips  off  the  magic  armor  and 
rushes  with  naked  breast  into  the  fight,  and  dies  glori- 

320 


GENERAL    RELIGIOUS   THEMES  321 

ously  in  the  hour  of  victory  won  by  his  strong  arm. 
The  future  nerves  him  to  his  sacrifice. 

Probably  we  do  not  always  realize  what  the  imagina- 
tion can  do  for  us — the  faculty  by  which  we  pro- 
ject our  thought  and  purpose  into  the  future  and  see 
them  realized.  "The  imagination  is  a  great  gift.  It 
is  also  a  great  danger.  Fear  and  dismay  and  all  the 
various  forces  which  so  fiercely  impede  us  are  apt  to 
possess  the  imagination,  and  then  in  turn  it  is  apt  to 
control  the  will."  That  is  the  dark  side,  but  it  has  also 
its  bright  side. 

The  cultivation  of  the  imagination  in  right  direc- 
tions is  one  of  the  most  helpful  aids  that  can  be  given 
men.  Every  discovery  has  been  first  a  dream  and 
then  a  realization.  It  has  been  imagined,  then  sought 
for,  and  at  length  found.  Hypothesis,  that  is  supposi- 
tion or  probability,  is  the  favorite  method  of  the  man 
of  science,  which  he  seeks  to  make  real  by  experiment 
and  observation.  Columbus  imagines  a  new  world, 
and  then  ventures  on  the  Atlantic  in  his  little  ships 
and  finds  America.  The  inventor  dreams  his  machine, 
and  toils  day  and  night  with  wheel  and  pinion,  until, 
completed,  it  is  almost  human  in  its  capabilities.  The 
imagination  is  a  great  factor  in  leading  men  to  great 
achievement. 

Man  nowhere  needs  its  inspiration  more  than  in 
regard  to  the  hereafter.  To  know  that  out  of  all  this 
struggle  and  endeavor,  apparently  so  useless ;  out  of 
all  disappointments  and  sorrows,  out  of  all  serv^ice, 
there  is  being  formed  the  man  well  pleasing  to  God — 
to  know  that  he  shall  be  recompensed  in  a  better  and 
more  blessed  life — is  to  make  him  full  of  courage 
and  hope  to  endure  and  win.  It  is  just  this  which 
Christ  brings  by  His  resurrection  to  us.  His  life  with- 
out the  resurrection,  or  the  future  life,  is  but  a  mock- 
ery. It  is  the  triumph  of  evil  and  not  of  the  good. 
Jesus  the  righteous  is  crucified,  Pilate  the  unrighteous 
lives.    Jesus'  life  and  death  would  add,  if  there  were 

21 


322  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

no  resurrection,  but  another  temptation  to  say  that 
"the  good  cannot  succeed,  let  us  therefore  enjoy  life 
as  we  may."  But  in  Him  risen  and  exalted  we  know 
"that  no  sorrow  bravely  borne,  no  duty  loyally  done, 
no  disappaintment  faithfully  endured,  is  lost." 

There  is  another  side,  which  has  been  powerfully 
set  forth  by  Kidd  in  his  "Social  Evolution."  "If  our 
conscious  relationship  to  the  universe  is  measured  by 
the  brief  span  of  individual  existence,  then  the  intel- 
lect can  know  of  only  one  duty  in  the  individual, 
namely,  his  duty  to  himself  to  make  the  most  of  the 
few  precious  years  of  consciousness  he  can  ever  know. 
Every  other  consideration  must  appear  dwarfed  and 
ridiculous  in  comparison.  Every  pain  avoided,  every 
pleasure  gained  in  these  few  years  is  a  consideration 
beside  which  the  intellect  must  count  any  aspiration 
to  further  a  process  of  the  cosmic  evolution  in  which 
the  individual  has  no  interest  as  mere  dust  in  the 
balance."  He  then  proceeds  to  show  how  bitter  and 
unprincipled  the  strife  for  wealth  and  power  will  be- 
come under  such  thoughts.  Lust  and  pleasure  and 
selfishness  will  rule,  and  will  bring  in  their  train  all 
the  vices. 

Is  not  the  same  lesson  endorsed  in  the  teachings  of 
ultra-socialism  and  anarchism  ?  "We  need  no  God  and 
no  future.  These  are  but  chains  by  which  laboring 
men  are  bound.  This  world  is  enough.  There  is  no 
future  to  fear,  none  to  compensate.  Overturn  society 
and  overturn  it  with  violence.  Every  man  must  claim 
his  own."  Existence  with  them  is  animal ;  refined  it 
may  be  in  some  measure,  but  not  spiritual.  There  is 
no  sonship  with  God,  no  future,  no  blessedness;  man 
is  bom,  has  a  brief  existence  and  dies,  just  as  the  dog 
is  born,  lives  and  dies. 

The  belief  in  the  future  is  part  of  the  spiritual  en- 
dowment of  man.  He  could  not  be  the  child  of  God 
without  it,  and  it  is  just  because  it  is  part  of  the  spirit- 
ual endowment  of  man  that  he  has  held  fast  to  it  in 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  323 

all  ages  and  has  not  been  able  to  divest  himself  of  the 
belief  of  a  fuuire  life,  except,  perhaps,  by  stifling  it 
with  intellectual  processes,  or  sinful  practices  which  kill 
the  spiritual  nature. 

In  Christ,  he  has  at  length  the  abundant  evidence  of 
the  truth,  that  he  shall  live  again.  The  narrative,  as 
we  have  it  in  the  Gospels,  of  the  resurrection,  is  clear, 
truthful  and  historical.  As  far  as  such  evidence  goes, 
there  can  be  no  better ;  but,  it  may  be  said,  the  certainty 
cannot  come  alone  through  the  history,  it  must  be 
through  the  actual  experience  of  life  with  the  risen 
Christ.  He  must,  by  His  power  within  our  hearts, 
raise  us  from  sin  to  righteousness,  to  convince  us  ut- 
terly that  He  lives  again. 

We  cannot  do  without  the  history.  It  is  needful  to 
lead  us  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ.  It  is  rich  and  full 
of  consolation  in  the  insight  it  gives  us  into  His  nature. 
His  work.  His  exaltation.  His  heart.  But,  when  it  has 
led  us  up  to  Him,  by  faith  we  must  lay  hold  on  Him 
and  know  His  living  self  in  our  hearts  and  lives;  then 
is  all  this  history  irradiated  with  certainty,  the  future 
is  as  certain  as  the  present,  death  is  welcome.  Remem- 
ber Paul's  word,  "For  me  to  live  is  Christ ;  to  die  is 
gain." 

Otherwise  we,  because  of  our  spiritual  endowment, 
are  vaguely  conscious  of  a  future  life ;  l^ut  we  walk  as 
in  a  dream,  we  hope  and  yet  cannot  anchor  ourselves 
with  this  hope  in  the  storms  of  life  and  the  tempest 
of  death,  that  certainty  is  alive  in  Christ.  Easter  is 
joyous  to  many.  Its  hope  throws  a  glow  over  the 
future  even  to  those  to  whom  it  is  but  a  gracious 
story ;  but  its  strong,  deep,  immeasurable  message  of 
certainty  is  given  alone  to  those  who  are  living  with 
Christ  who  died  on  Calvary,  but  who,  rising  on  Easter 
morn,  lives  our  Lord  and  Saviour  forevermore 


THE  DEEPEST  HELP 

Jesus  Christ  was  the  Great  Helper.  He  helped  men 
wherever  He  went,  healing  them  of  every  disease.  He 
helped  their  souls  as  well  as  their  bodies,  teaching 
them  the  truth  they  needed  to  make  their  lives,  the 
lives  of  the  children  of  God.  He  did  what  no  other 
has  ever  done :  He  forgave  men  their  sins,  healing  the 
diseased  soul  as  He  healed  the  diseased  body.  It  was 
this  which  startled  the  Pharisees  when  He  said  to  the 
paralytic  man,  brought  by  the  four  faithful  friends 
and  laid  at  His  feet,  "Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee." 

Christ  addressed  Himself  to  the  deeper  want  first. 
Agony  of  soul  is  more  painful  than  agony  of  body. 
The  palsy  was  evidently  the  result  of  an  evil  life,  and 
was  the  just  punishment  of  sin  committed.  After  the 
stroke  that  left  him  helpless  in  body  but  active  in  mind, 
as  he  lay  upon  his  bed  all  that  vileness  rose  up  before 
him.  He  saw  himself  dying,  hastening  to  the  final 
judgment,  a  guilty  reprobate.  His  sins  rose  up  before 
him,  ghostly  accusers.  Bodily  distress  was  forgotten 
before  the  poignant  anguish  of  unforgiven  sin. 

What  then  was  the  best  help  to  extend  to  this  man  ? 
The  body  is  the  interpreter  of  spiritual  life,  the  tablet 
on  which  the  soul  writes  its  thought  and  life.  The  scar 
is  eloquent  of  danger  passed  through.  The  hard  hand 
of  the  laborer  is  the  signature  of  toil.  The  keen, 
shrewd  eye,  the  deeply  calculating  expression,  reveal 
the  active  mind  of  the  business  man.  The  thoughtful, 
preocupied  air,  the  serious  brow,  are  the  signs  of 
an  intellect  devoted  to  study.  "And  when  we  lay  a 
human  body  in  the  ground,  at  last  there  is  a  reverence 
or  a  pity  which  starts  within  us  as  we  see  the  coffin-lid 
close  on  the  marks  of  noble  or  ignoble  servantship 
which  the  years  have  left  written  on  the  face."  Sen- 
suality,   debauchery,    wickedness,    as    well   as   honor, 

324 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  325 

truth  and  goodness,  write  themselves  upon  tlie  face. 
Our  word  character  indicates  this.  It  originally  meant 
to  cut,  engrave,  suggesting  that  the  lines  of  the  face 
engraved  there  express  the  soul's  lineaments  to  the  eye. 

If  then  we  knew^  a  face  so  marked  as  to  show  the 
loathsomeness  of  the  soul  within,  and  we  had  the  power 
to  cleanse  the  countenance  of  all  trace  of  sin,  making 
it  fair  and  glorious  as  the  face  of  an  angel  of  God, 
would  it  be  the  deepest  help?  The  foul  soul  would  re- 
main, and  soon  would  rewrite  itself  upon  the  glorious 
countenance.  All  the  evidences  of  foulness  would  re- 
turn and  abide  once  more. 

If  we,  with  our  imperfect  conceptions,  can  see  this, 
how  much  more  Christ?  He  understood  that  to  heal 
this  paralytic  body  were  but  the  poorest  help,  if  He 
could  not  reach  his  deeper  need  and  cleanse  him  of 
inner  corruption. 

There  is  here  an  object  lesson  of  Christ's  mode  of 
helping  men  now.  What  is  true  help?  There  are 
grades  of  help.  A  man  may  be  helped  to  get  money. 
It  is  by  no  means  a  little  help,  but  if  he  be  ignorant, 
vicious,  his  money  may  only  afford  him  larger  scope 
for  villainy.  He  may  be  helped  to  a  larger  life  of  com- 
fort, and  by  placing  him  under  refining  influences  a 
polish  may  be  added  to  his  manner,  a  graciousness  to 
his  bearing,  a  quiet  cheer  to  his  life.  That  would  be 
better  help.  Again,  he  might  be  raised  above  this 
polished  animal  existence,  given  high  and  lofty 
thoughts,  filled  with  knowledge  until  in  intellect  and 
far-reaching  plans,  in  the  comprehension  of  the  beauti- 
ful and  great  in  art,  literature,  nature  or  humanity,  he 
would  be  like  a  god.  Yet  withal,  there  might  be  base- 
ness of  moral  life,  meanness  of  character,  a  soul  full 
of  the  creeping  things  of  darkness  and  evil.  The  deep- 
est help  surely  to  extend  a  man  is  to  renew  therefore 
the  inner  life,  freeing  him  from  sin.  making  him  a 
child  of  God,  for  then  all  these  other  things  might  be 
added  unto  him. 


326  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

Let  US  take  but  one  illustration  to  help  us  in  our 
study.  A  vast  problem  has  come  with  advancing  civili- 
zation and  increasing  population — the  help  of  the 
poor.  It  is  comparatively  easy  to  give  money,  to  afford 
them  a  certain  degree  of  comfort ;  but  the  conviction 
increases  that  the  giving  of  money  in  charity  oft  de- 
grades and  pauperizes  the  recipients.  It  robs  them  of 
self-respect,  makes  them  improvident  and  debases  their 
characters.  Communists  think  a  re-distribution  of 
property  in  which  all  shall  have  equal  shares  is  the 
solvent  of  our  social  troubles.  But  it  would  only  need 
a  few  years  to  pass  away  before  some  would  be  rich 
and  others  poor.  For  in  every  truly  rich  man  there  are 
found  these  qualities,  self-respect,  determination,  de- 
cision, power  to  struggle,  self-denial ;  and  until  the 
poor  man  is  taught  to  respect  himself,  filled  with  deter- 
mination and  decision,  made  powerful  to  struggle  and 
ready  to  deny  himself,  he  has  not  been  accorded  the 
best  worldly  help.  The  inner  man  must  be  reached 
more  than  the  outer  conditions. 

Coming  back  to  Christ's  help,  we  perceive  clearly 
that  to  help  our  deepest  need  He  must  be  able  to  say, 
"Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee" ;  to  say  to  us  in  the 
anguish  of  soul  over  the  sinful  past  and  the  present 
evil  heart,  "The  old  bitter  past  is  blotted  out ;  I  pardon 
all,  I  give  thee  a  new  heart."  It  is  no  use  to  cure  paral- 
ysis and  leave  the  sin  that  caused  it ;  no  use  to  make 
the  face  like  the  face  of  the  angel  of  God,  glorious 
for  beauty  and  strength,  if  the  evil  principle  be  left 
within  to  change  slowly  or  swiftly  the  face  of  glory 
into  one  of  loathsome  vice. 

Sometimes  the  water  in  our  towns  and  cities  be- 
comes dirty.  Rains  on  the  upland  hills  and  valleys 
sweeping  the  soil  and  the  refuse  of  mines  into  the 
brooks  and  rivers  have  filled  the  reserv^oirs  with  foul 
and  muddy  water.  We  may  filter  enough  for  drinking 
purposes ;  but  what  we  need  is  that  the  reservoir  be 
purified,  and  then  in  every  house  there  will  be  abund- 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  327 

ance  of  pure,  sweet,  wholesome  water.  We  need  help, 
not  the  help  that  sets  aside  the  consequences  of  our 
sins,  enough  water  filtered  for  to-day,  but  that  Christ 
should  go  down  into  the  heart,  purify  it  of  evil,  turn- 
ing it  to  God ;  that  He  should  rule  there  and  dwell 
there,  that  we  may  have  power  to  overcome  sin ;  and 
then  from  this  reservoir  of  thought  and  faith  and  love, 
pure  deeds  and  words  shall  come  sparkling  and  help- 
ful into  this  world,  and  on  the  countenance  be  engraved 
the  beauteous  lines  of  purity,  righteousness  and  love 
to  God  and  men. 

In  all  our  work  as  helpers  to  our  fellow-men  and  our 
scholars,  let  us  hold  firmly  to  Christ's  thought  of  help, 
and  seek,  as  the  deepest  help  we  can  bring,  to  lead 
them  to  Christ,  that  He  may  grant  forgiveness  even  by 
His  atoning  sacrifice,  and  through  the  Holy  Spirit  give 
them  a  new  heart. 


"BACK  TO  CHRIST" 

"Back  to  Christ"  has  become  a  very  common  cry 
on  the  part  of  many  who  pose  as  advanced  thinkers. 
Nor  should  there  be  any  opposition  to  it,  if  it  were 
rightly  made.  But  the  cry  means  that  the  human  side 
of  Christ  is  to  be  dwelt  upon  and  the  divine  side  of 
Christ  minimized.  The  Synoptic  Gospels,  Matthew, 
Mark  and  Luke,  are  to  be  studied  whilst  John  is  to 
be  ignored.  The  Epistles,  they  assert,  are  of  not 
much  weight,  as  they  depart  from  the  Gospels  and 
obscure  the  true  Christ  by  theological  conceptions  and 
human  reasonings. 

"Back  to  Christ"  is,  upon  their  part,  the  begging  of 
the  matter  at  issue,  for  "the  Christ"  is  the  matter  at 
issue,  "Who  is  He?"  and  "What  is  His  office?"  Peter 
answered,  when  he  said,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  living  God,"  the  chosen  Saviour,  the  divine  Son. 

The  Jews  were  willing  to  concede  that  Jesus  was 
a  prophet,  as  great  as  any  of  the  Old  Testament  proph- 
ets, even  that  He  might  be  one  of  the  old  prophets 
returned  to  this  earth.  Had  He  been  content  with  the 
position  of  human  teacher,  as  great  or  greater  than 
the  great  teachers  of  the  past.  He  would  have  been 
welcomed  and  honored.  It  was  His  insistent  claim 
that  He  was  more  than  a  human  teacher  that  caused 
the  Jews  to  put  Him  to  death. 

That  He  was  not  content  to  be  recognized  as  a  mere 
human  teacher  is  strikingly  set  forth  by  that  sharp, 
incisive  question  that  would  have  a  direct,  unevasive 
answer,  which  He  put  to  the  disciples  after  they  had 
told  Him  who  men  said  He  was — "Who  do  ye  say 
that  I  am?"  When  Peter  answered,  "Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,"  He  was  rejoiced, 
and  cried,  "Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-jona,  flesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father 

328 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  329 

which  is  in  heaven."  He  was  greater  than  any  of  the 
prophets.  He  could  not  be  content  with  the  honor  be- 
stowed on  them,  for  this  were  to  leave  the  world  in 
darkness,  without  salvation.  To  know  Him  as  the 
divine  Saviour  was  the  root  of  all  blessedness,  salva- 
tion, righteousness,  peace  and  joy. 

The  disciples  were  not  merely  to  preach  the  Christ 
of  the  Gospels,  a  Christ  marvelous  in  holiness  and 
beauty  of  life  and  wonderful  in  His  teachings  and 
influence  and  an  example  to  men,  They  were  to  set 
Him  forth  as  the  Christ,  the  divine  Son.  Nor  were 
they  to  do  this  until  His  work  was  complete :  "Then 
charged  He  His  disciples  that  they  should  tell  no  man 
that  He  was  the  Christ."  The  time  was  not  yet  come. 
They  could  not  set  Him  forth  as  Saviour  until  His 
sacrificial  work  was  complete  and  He,  risen  from  the 
dead,  should,  as  their  living  Lord,  give  them  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who  should  teach  them  Christ's  nature  and 
office,  and  abide  with  them  always. 

In  other  words,  it  is  not  the  conception  of  Christ's 
human  nature  that  saves  men,  but  His  divine  nature. 
The  study  of  the  human  nature  is  profitable,  but  alone 
when  it  discloses  the  divine  and  teaches  us  the  Father's 
love  and  nature  does  it  become  most  profitable.  The 
answer  to  sin  and  the  sureness  of  salvation  for  sinners 
is  to  be  found  in  the  cross  with  Him  as  sacrifice  for 
sin,  in  the  resurrection  with  its  tidings  of  Him  as  life, 
giving  the  power  to  live  righteously. 

It  is  brought  out  by  the  Lord  Jesus  in  His  next 
words  to  the  disciples  after  Peter's  confession,  in 
which  He  dwells  upon  His  sufferings  and  death, 
offensive  then  to  the  disciples,  even  as  they  are  offen- 
sive to  many  now.  But  when  Peter  rebuked  Him  as 
He  spoke  of  His  death,  how  stern  were  His  words  to 
him  who  had  been  so  praised  a  moment  before.  "Get 
thee  behind  me,  Satan;  thou  art  an  offence  unto  me; 
for  thou  savorest  not  the  things  that  be  of  God,  but 
the  things  that  be  of  men."     "Back  to  Christ,"  when 


330  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

it  means  the  mere  human  hfe,  savorest  the  things  that 
be  of  men,  human  love,  human  teachings  and  human 
example,  but  no  divine  sacrifice,  no  divine  sustaining 
life  and  grace.  With  what  feeling  Paul  exclaimed, 
after  he  had  spoken  of  Christ's  death  for  all,  "Yea, 
though  we  have  known  Christ  after  the  flesh,  yet  now 
henceforth  know  we  Him  no  more" ;  for  well  he  knew 
the  heart  of  the  Gospel  is  "the  crucified  and  risen 
Lord,  not  a  memory,  but  a  living  Christ." 

"Back  to  Christ"  on  the  lips  of  these  so-called  ad- 
vanced thinkers  too  often  looks  upon  the  Epistles  as 
a  declension  from  Christ's  truth  as  set  forth  in  the 
Gospels.  Is  it  not  wise  to  consider  what  Jesus  here 
says  concerning  Peter,  and  what  He  promises?  Peter 
reaches  the  truth  that  He  is  the  Christ,  the  divine  Son, 
because  the  Father  hath  revealed  it  to  him.  Revela- 
tion vouchsafed  then  was  to  be  continued,  for  they 
were  to  be  specially  endowed  and  guided  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Christ  followed  with  the  absolute  promise  that 
"I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven ;  that  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall 
be  bound  in  heaven ;  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose 
on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."  As  the  Church 
had  His  promise  that  it  should  not  be  overthrown  by 
all  the  powers  of  hell,  which  promise  has  been  proven 
to  be  divine  because  absolutely  kept  for  all  the  cen- 
turies since,  just  as  absolute  was  this  divine  promise 
here  made  to  Peter  and  the  other  apostles. 

These  men  certainly  were  chosen  and  endowed  for 
a  special  purpose.  Their  understanding  was  enlight- 
ened, their  spiritual  perceptions  heightened,  that  they 
might  set  forth  the  hidden  meanings  of  Christ  per- 
son, office  and  work.  They  were  inspired.  When, 
therefore,  the  men  of  our  times,  with  specious  cries  of 
insight  and  wisdom,  would  take  us  back  to  a  mere 
human  Christ  and  bid  us  beware  of  the  apostles' 
teachings,  we  might  prudently  ask  what  promise  has 
been  specially  made  these  modern  self-chosen  teachers. 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  331 

wherein  are  they  superior  to  Peter  and  John  and  Paul, 
specially  chosen,  not  by  themselves,  but  by  Christ,  and 
endowed  with  the  Spirit,  of  which  their  miracles  are 
proof  ? 

As  for  ourselves,  we  would  humbly  follow  these 
apostles  in  their  teachings,  believing  that  when  we 
follow  them  we  are  really  going  "back  to  Christ,"  the 
divine  Christ,  the  Saviour,  whilst  the  men  who  despise 
or  belittle  them  are  getting  back  to  the  standpoint  of 
the  Jews,  who  could  see  nothing  but  a  great  prophet 
of  blameless  life  in  Jesus.  The  Christ  whom  we  love 
is  the  Christ  of  the  apostles,  who  delighted  to  record 
and  tell  the  story  of  His  beautiful  life  upon  earth,  but 
also  who  preached  and  wrote  of  Him  as  One  who  died 
for  their  sins  and  rose  again  for  their  justification,  who 
was  God's  own  Son,  who  ascended,  reigns  with  the 
Father,  who  lives  now,  with  whom  there  is  power  to 
forgive  sins,  for  He  hath  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice 
of  Himself,  who  gives  power  to  live  and  overcome, 
with  whom  there  is  sweet  fellowship  now,  sweeter 
than  when  they  walked  with  Him  in  Galilee,  because 
it  is  the  understood  and  realized  fellowship  of  the 
Lord,  the  Son  of  man.  and  the  Son  of  God. 

Augustine  said,  "The  New  Testament  is  concealed  in 
the  Old  :  the  Old  Testament  cannot  be  understood  with- 
out the  New."  So  the  Epistles  are  hidden  in  the  Gos- 
pels; the  Gospels  cannot  be  understood  without  the 
Epistles,  for  thev  explain  the  nature,  office  and  work 
of  Christ.  "Back  to  Christ."  Yes.  "back  to  Christ," 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,  revealed  to  us 
in  the  Gospels  and  Epistles. 


SPIRITUAL  POWER 

Life  brings  to  all  workers  this  experience — a  curious 
sense  of  helplessness  to  effect  in  themselves  the  higher 
results.  Great  men  have  spoken  of  destiny,  thus  con- 
fessing that  their  achievements  in  the  last  results  were 
the  outcome  of  forces  outside  of  themselves.  Others 
have  made  their  plans,  toiled  with  energy,  guarded 
every  contingency,  and  have  failed,  thwarted  in  their 
endeavor  by  a  power  that  baffled  all  their  foresight  and 
energy.  "Fate,"  they  cried,  "is  too  strong  for  us." 
The  Christian  gives  another  name  to  his  destiny  and 
fate,  and  speaks  of  God. 

In  the  efforts  put  forth  to  do  good  unto  others,  there 
is  this  curious  sense  of  helpfulness  to  effect  by  skill, 
or  talent,  or  wisdom,  a  change  in  the  spiritual  life  of 
others.  There  may  be  brought  to  the  sermon  learning, 
rare  art  in  putting  things,  the  graces  of  style,  the 
charm  of  the  orator,  thoughts  of  wisdom,  and  still 
the  will  remains  stubborn  though  the  heart  and  intel- 
lect respond.  A  teacher  studies  his  lesson,  masters  it, 
sketches  his  plan  of  presenting  it,  carries  it  out  with 
tact  and  skill,  and  still  the  scholars,  attentive  and  re- 
spectful, charmed  and  held,  remain  cold  and  unstirred 
in  the  depths  of  their  being.  A  curious  sense  of  help- 
lessness comes  to  us  in  such  hours. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  have  been  many  who  have 
been  singularly  efficient  in  changing  the  hearts  of  men, 
persuading  them  of  the  truth  of  Christ  and  securing 
their  submission  to  Him,  who  have  been  persons  of 
rather  meager  culture  and  intellectual  power.  They 
have  had  little  knowledge  of  the  books,  have  sinned 
against  grammar,  and  have  been  foolish  in  their  human 
learning,  but  have  been  effective  to  save  men.  It  was 
not  their  ignorance  that  was  the  secret,  for  the  same 
results   have   been   accomplished   by   men   of   culture 

332 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  333 

and  of  human  wisdom,  men  who  have  been  thoroughly- 
trained  in  the  schools.  All,  however,  confessed  that 
they  had  not  in  themselves  done  these  things,  but  that 
God  had  used  them  for  His  purposes. 

Such  humility  is  a  good  thing.  Without  it  God  will 
not  work  through  us.  "I  l)elieve,"  says  Ruskin,  in 
"Modern  Painters,"  "the  hrst  test  of  a  truly  great  man 
is  his  humility.  I  do  not  mean  by  humility  doubt  of 
his  own  power,  or  hesitation  of  speaking  his  opinions ; 
but  a  right  understanding  of  the  relation  between 
what  he  can  do  and  say  and  the  rest  of  the  world's 
doings  and  sayings.  All  great  men  not  only  know 
their  business,  but  usually  know  that  they  know  it,  and 
are  not  only  right  in  their  main  opinions,  but  they 
usually  know  that  they  are  right  in  them,  only  they 
do  not  think  much  of  themselves  on  that  account. 
Arnolfo  knows  that  he  can  build  a  good  dome  at 
Florence ;  Albert  Diirer  writes  calmly  to  one  who  has 
found  fault  with  his  work,  *It  cannot  be  done  better' ; 
Sir  Isaac  Newton  knows  that  he  has  worked  out  a 
problem  or  two  that  would  have  puzzled  anybody  else ; 
only  they  do  not  expect  their  fellow-men  therefore 
to  fall  down  and  worship  them.  They  have  a  curious 
under-sense  of  powerlessness.  feeling  that  the  power 
is  not  in  them,  but  through  them ;  that  they  could  not 
do  or  be  anything  else  than  God  made  them ;  and  they 
see  something  divine  and  God-made  in  every  other  man 
they  meet,  and  are  endlessly,  foolishly,  incredibly  mer- 
ciful." 

To  what  should  all  this  lead  us  but  to  the  funda- 
mendal  fact  of  spiritual  power  that  alone  through  the 
Holy  Spirit  can  we  gather  others  out  of  the  world  to 
Christ,  or  train  them  to  higher  spiritual  life.  "No 
man  can  say  that  Tesus  is  the  Lord,  but  by  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

How  then  shall  we  secure  this  power?  Evidently  by 
being  in  the  Spirit  ourselves.  He  must  be  in  us,  if  He 
is  to  be  in  our  words  and  lives.     He  must  not  be 


334  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

grieved  by  sin,  nor  resisted  when  He  would  sanctify 
us,  nor  disobeyed  when  He  commands.  The  father 
of  Canon  Wilberforce  said,  'Tn  his  later  years  he  gave 
up  preparing  sermons,  and  simply  prepared  himself." 
For  the  most  fruitful  spiritual  results,  the  Spirit  uses 
the  prepared  man,  the  man  turning  from  evil,  alive  to 
righteousness,  aglow  with  love  to  God  and  in  fellow- 
ship with  Him  through  the  Spirit. 

Such  a  man  will  be  a  man  of  prayer,  seeking  help 
from  the  Spirit,  and  going  from  prayer  to  his  work. 
"And  when  they  had  prayed,  the  place  was  shaken 
where  they  were  assembled  together ;  and  they  were  all 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they  spake  the  word 
of  God  with  boldness."  Such  a  man  will  be  helped  in 
unexpected  ways ;  he  will  be  given  the  right  spirit,  the 
right  words,  the  right  way  of  saying  truth,  whilst  the 
Spirit  will  prepare  the  hearts  of  those  sought  to  re- 
ceive the  truth.  Prayer  is  efficacious  in  ways  of  which 
we  do  not  dream.  A  young  artist  once  complained  to 
William  Blake,  the  great  English  painter,  that  the 
power  of  invention  had  forsaken  him.  To  his  aston- 
ishment, Blake  turned  to  his  wife  suddenly  and  said, 
"It  is  just 'SO  with  us,  is  it  not,  for  weeks  together, 
vvhen  the  visions  forsake  us?  What  do  we  then  do?" 
asked  he.  "We  kneel  down  and  pray,"  said  she.  They 
that  pray  fervently  for  the  Spirit  will  receive  visions 
of  truth  and  likewise  power  to  convey  it  to  others. 

Such  a  man  will  also  be  a  man  of  God's  word.  The 
word  of  God  is  the  means  by  which  the  Spirit  does 
His  work  of  calling,  preserving  and  sanctifying.  He 
works  no  miracle  that  may  atone  for  our  laziness.  He 
might  often  use  us  if  we  had  not,  by  neglect  of  the 
study  of  God's  word,  failed  to  give  Him  the  means  of 
reaching  others  through  that  word  in  our  hearts  and 
on  our  lips.  W^hen  certain  fanatics  who  believed  that 
men  should  speak  without  preparation  said  to  Glaus 
Harms,  whose  work  was  so  signally  blessed,  "Does  not 
the  Spirit  speak  to  you  when  you  go  into  the  pulpit 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  335 

without  preparation?"  "He  does,"  replied  Harms. 
"He  says,  'Claus,  you  have  been  very  lazy  to-day.'  " 
Those  who  are  anxious  that  the  Spirit  should  speak 
through  them,  will  study  God's  word,  as  a  whole,  and 
will  particularly  study  that  portion  which  they  are  to 
teach,  so  that  they  may  be  used  by  Him  to  save  some 
and  build  up  others  in  the  truths  of  their  most  holy 
faith. 


POWER 

Archimedes  thought  he  could  find  a  lever  long 
enough  to  lift  the  world  if  he  could  find  a  fulcrum 
to  rest  it  on.  But  lacking  the  fulcrum,  he  did  not  at- 
tempt the  task.  The  man  of  to-day  is  not  much 
troubled  for  want  of  "a  place  to  stand,"  nor  for  any- 
thing else.  He  feels  that  he  has  at  his  command  power 
enough  to  do  almost  anything  that  he  desires.  Daniel 
Webster  once  said,  "Nothing  is  impossible  on  Bunker 
Hill."  The  spirit  of  the  age  is  disposed  to  drop  the 
limit  of  historic  inspiration  and  say  nothing  involving 
power  is  impossible  anywhere. 

Power  in  its  relation  to  man  may  be  divided  into  two 
classes,  namely,  that  which  man  possesses  and  that 
which  he  controls  or  commands.  Power  which  he  pos- 
sesses is  that  which  he  exercises  immediately,  directly, 
without  any  intermediate  cause  or  agency.  That  which 
he  commands  is  that  which  he  controls  and  exercises 
through  mediate  agencies.  He  possesses  the  power 
by  which  he  walks;  he  commands  the  power  by  which 
he  rides.  Pie  possesses  the  power  of  his  fist  with  which 
he  smites  his  assailant ;  he  commands  the  power  of  the 
battery  which  strikes  down  an  opposing  army.  He 
possesses  the  power  of  his  voice  with  which  he  makes 
known  his  thoughts  to  those  in  his  presence ;  he  com- 
mands the  power  by  which  he  transmits  his  thoughts 
to  those  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  planet.  The 
former  is  comparatively  circumscribed ;  the  latter  seem- 
ingly unlimited.  When  Jesus  Christ  was  on  earth  men 
marveled  at  the  power  which  He  possessed;  to-day 
we  marvel  not  so  much  at  the  power  which  man  pos- 
sesses, but  rather  at  that  which  he  commands. 

The  mightiest  forces  of  nature  seem  to  delight  in 
bowing  to  man's  control.  They  come  at  his  call ;  they 
respond  to  his  signal ;  they  recognize  his  right  to  com- 

336 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  337 

mand.  At  the  curbing  stands  a  little  boy,  six  years  of 
age.  He  looks  anxiously  down  the  street.  He  sees 
an  electric  car  approaching.  He  moves  toward  the 
middle  of  the  street.  He  lifts  his  tiny  hand.  For 
what  purpose?  To  stop  that  car.  "Foolishness!"  you 
say.  "That  car  is  propelled  by  one  of  the  greatest 
forces  of  nature,  and  to  think  that  it  can  be  stopped  by 
the  uplifted  hand  of  a  child  is  worse  than  foolish." 
But  that  little  boy  knows  better.  He  holds  up  his  little 
hand  and  the  car  stops.  You  say  the  motorman  stopped 
the  car.  But  what  caused  him  to  stop  it?  That  up- 
lifted hand.  The  conductor  assists  his  royal  passen- 
ger to  board  the  car.  The  car  thunders  on.  It  is  near- 
ing  the  crossing  of  a  steam-car  line.  Again  that  little 
hand  goes  up  and  again  that  car  stops  and  the  little 
man  gets  off.  The  lightning  which  Franklin  coaxed 
down  his  kite  string  has  become  the  obedient  servant 
of  that  child's  will,  carrying  him  where  his  young  feet 
could  not  take  him. 

Now  he  stands  at  one  of  the  stations  of  one  of  the 
great  trunk  lines  of  the  continent.  But  it  is  only  a  flag 
station.  He  looks  anxiously  down  the  long  road  of 
steel.  At  length,  in  the  distance,  he  sees  the  smoke 
rolling  from  the  nostrils  of  the  iron  giant.  On  it 
comes  with  the  speed  of  the  wind  and  the  might  of  a 
tempest.  What  is  that  boy  going  to  do?  He  is  going 
to  stop  that  train.  "Foolish !"  you  say.  "The  strong 
arms  of  a  thousand  men  could  not  even  impede  its 
progress."  But  that  boy  knows  he  can  stop  it.  True 
to  his  mother's  directions,  he  takes  his  kerchief  from 
his  pocket  and  waves  it  with  the  confidence  of  an 
autocrat.  The  giant  stops,  and  with  palpitating  heart 
awaits  his  further  pleasure.  He  mounts  the  steps, 
enters  the  coach  and  hands  the  conductor  a  bit  of 
paper  containing  his  fare  and  a  request  to  stop  for  him 
at  another  flag  station.  The  iron  horse  rushes  on  for 
another  hour  and  then  stops  again  for  the  sole  con- 
venience of  this  royal  little  passenger.    He  alights  and 

22 


338  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

is  met  and  embraced  by  his  Aunt  Jane,  whose  guest  he 
is  to  be  for  the  next  month. 

Wonderful,  indeed,  that  steam  and  electricity,  might- 
iest forces  of  nature,  should  become  the  willing  serv- 
ants of  man's  convenience  and  comfort !  More  won- 
derful yet  that  the  tiny  hand  of  a  child  can  direct  these 
potencies.  We  are  reminded  of  God's  first  commis- 
sion to  man,  "Subdue  it  and  have  dominion  over  it." 

But  God  has  placed  within  the  command  of  man 
more  wonderful  powers  than  those  of  nature ;  He  has 
placed  even  Himself  at  our  command,  and  invites  us 
to  call  upon  Him.  and  promises  to  answer  when  we 
call.  Let  me  recite  a  paragraph  of  modern  history. 
I  recite  it,  not  because  it  is  exceptional,  but  rather 
because  it  is  typical.  A  little  more  than  fifty  years 
ago  there  was  born  in  Japan  a  boy  who  was  afterward 
known  as  Joseph  Hardy  Neesima,  and  was  destined  by 
God  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  of  human  forces  in  the 
emancipation  of  the  "sunrise  kingdom."  At  the  age 
of  five  his  youthful  mind  renounced  idol  worship, 
although  as  yet  he  had  not  found  a  faith  to  take  its 
place.  Later  there  fell  into  his  hands  a  stray  copy  of 
a  Chinese  translation  of  a  part  of  our  Bible.  In  this 
he  spelled  out  the  first  sublime  sentence,  "In  the  be- 
ginning God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth."  This 
appealed  to  his  precocious  young  mind,  as  more  rea- 
sonable than  any  explanation  of  the  universe  he  had 
heard.  As  the  little  boy  at  the  track  lifted  his  hand 
to  signal  the  forces  of  electricity  and  steam,  so  this 
little  Japanese  lifted  his  youthful  heart  to  signal  the 
One  to  whom  all  power  belongeth.  These  were  his 
words :  "Oh,  if  you  have  eyes,  look  upon  me;  if  you 
have  ears,  listen  to  me!"  And  the  God  to  whom  he 
prayed  had  both  eyes  and  ears,  and  the  omnipotent 
God  began  to  plan  for  that  boy.  He  sent  him  to  Shang- 
hai, and  from  Shanghai  to  Boston.  He  called  into 
requisition  the  ships  of  commerce.  He  called  to  His 
plans  Alpheus  Hardy,  who  gave  him  an  education, 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  339 

and  after  whom  he  was  named.  He  used  a  Christian 
college  and  the  Japanese  embassy  in  fitting  him  for 
his  great  work.  When  at  length  he  was  prepared  for 
the  work  to  which  God  had  called  him,  the  government 
of  Japan  offered  him  a  lucrative  position.  But  this 
was  to  him  no  temptation.  He  had  determined  to  be 
an  evangelist  to  his  own  race,  and  nothing  could  turn 
him  from  this  purpose.  Among  other  things  he  de- 
sired a  Christian  college  for  the  training  of  Japanese 
pastors.  Even  his  friends  pronounced  this  impossible, 
telling  him  he  might  as  well  "attempt  to  fly  to  Mars," 
but  with  unyielding  faith  he  pursued  his  plans,  and 
before  his  death  saw  the  college  completed  and  more 
than  nine  hundred  pupils  in  attendance.  He  died  be- 
fore he  was  fifty  years  old.  He  died  at  his  work,  with 
the  maps  of  five  provinces  before  him,  on  which  he 
was  marking  the  strategic  points  for  a  great  cam- 
paign for  his  Lord  and  for  the  uplifting  of  his  native 
land.  No  man  has  ever  so  vitally  influenced  Japan 
for  good  as  has  this  wonderful  child  of  Providence. 

We  have  been  marveling  of  late  at  the  wondrous 
growth  and  development  of  this  island  empire.  Do 
not  overlook  the  fact  that  Christianity  has  done  much, 
very  much,  to  make  possible  all  these  achievements. 

Talk  if  you  will  about  the  wonders  of  steam  and 
electricity  and  radium,  but  do  not  forget  the  omnipo- 
tent God.  the  loving  Father,  in  whose  hands  lie  not 
only  the  forces  of  nature  but  as  well  the  powers  that 
guide  the  lives  of  men  and  shape  the  destiny  of  nature. 


PLEASING  GOD 

We  are  so  constituted  that  we  delight  to  please.  To 
please  those  above  us  and  win  from  them  a  word  of 
praise,  we  are  often  ready  to  deny  ourselves  and  give 
toil  and  treasure. 

It  is  needful,  however,  that  principle  and  truth 
should  regulate  the  desire  to  please.  One  may  often 
spend  strength  in  foolishly  tr}^'ing  to  please  the  un- 
w^orthy,  even  be  tempted  to  yield  honor  and  truth  to 
keep  on  good  terms  with  the  false  and  corrupt.  Prin- 
ciple and  truth  are  to  be  preferred  to  the  gaining  of 
the  goodwill  of  others,  when  it  means  the  surrender 
of  honor. 

If  the  desire  to  please  be  directed  to  one  worthy 
of  reverence  and  love,  it  is  a  great  help  to  a  noble  life. 
There  have  been  many  instances  where  a  man  had  a 
friend,  a  man,  a  woman,  a  wife,  whose  approbation, 
that  of  a  pure  and  generous  soul,  has  been  the  inspira- 
tion to  a  beautiful  life  of  unselfishness.  To  please  that 
friend,  to  bring  no  shame  to  her,  to  be  worthy  of  her 
praise,  spurred  him  to  highest  deed.  The  world  might 
sneer,  laugh,  misjudge,  denounce,  but  the  smile  of  the 
friend  was  sunshine  to  drive  away  those  dark  clouds. 
Her  "well  done"  a  voice  that  hushed  to  silence  the 
harsh  cries  of  an  unjust  world. 

Now,  if  this  be  true  when  we  strive  to  please  a 
human  friend,  how  much  more  must  it  be  true  when 
we  strive  to  please  God,  worthy  of  our  highest  rever- 
ence and  love.  But  is  it  possible  for  us  to  please  God? 
The  Scripture  says  it  is  possible.  Paul  writes  to  the 
Thessalonians  and  says,  "How  ye  ought  to  walk  and 
please  God."  "Enoch  had  this  testimony,  that  he 
pleased  God."  Of  Jesus,  God  the  Father  said,  "This 
is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."   God 

340 


GENERAL  RELIGIOUS   THEMES  341 

is  no  sphinx,  unmoved  and  insensible.  He  may  be 
pleased  by  each  one  of  us. 

We  please  God  when  we  believe  and  trust  in  Him. 
"Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God;  for  he 
that  comes  to  God  must  believe  that  He  is  the  re- 
warder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  Him."  Truth  and 
honor  are  very  dear  to  sincere  men.  To  doubt  them 
is  to  wound  them  most  deeply,  whilst  to  rest  calmly 
and  confidently  upon  them  pleases  them  most  deeply. 
God  has  given  to  us  His  word  and  His  promise.  To 
doubt  that  word  and  promise  is  to  wound  Him ;  to  be- 
lieve His  word.  Himself,  is  to  please  Him. 

Does  anything  please  us  more  than  trust?  We  are 
with  others  where  there  is  a  shy,  timid  child.  She 
hides  her  face  in  her  mother's  lap,  then  she  slowly  lifts 
it,  she  searches  your  face.  She  finds  it  worthy  of 
trust,  slowly  she  draws  near,  and  now,  won  by  your 
kindness  of  face,  nestles  in  your  arms.  What  a  throb 
of  pleasure  the  little  one's  trust  brings  to  your  heart! 
It  is  only  a  child  and  a  child's  trust  in  you,  but  it 
pleases  you  most  deeply.  Though  we  are  less  than 
little  children  before  God,  our  trust  pleases  Him. 

We  please  God  when  we  honor  Christ.  All  men  are 
to  honor  the  Son,  even  as  they  honor  the  Father  in 
His  will.  "He  that  honoreth  not  the  Son.  honoreth 
not  the  Father  which  hath  sent  Him."  It  is  impossible 
to  please  God  if  we  honor  not  Christ.  It  brings  rich- 
est pleasure  to  us  when  one  we  truly  love  is  honored 
by  others.  We  resent  it  most  keenly  when  deserved 
honor  is  withheld  from  them.  There  is  nothing  so 
quickly  rouses  a  father  or  mother  to  anger  as  dis- 
honoring or  neglecting  a  son  or  daughter ;  and  nothing 
is  more  pleasing  to  parents  than  honor  given  to  their 
children.  The  Father  hath  sent  His  Son.  To  neglect, 
to  be  indifferent  to  Him,  to  despise  Him  is  to  dishonor 
the  Father.  When,  therefore,  we  confess  Christ  as  our 
Saviour  and  serve  Him,  we  please  God. 

We  please  God  by  groivth  in  good  works.   "That  ye 


342  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

might  walk  worthy  of  the  Lord  unto  all  pleasing,  being 
fruitful  in  every  good  work,"  is  the  word  of  Paul  to 
the  Colossians.  Again  he  writes,  "As  ye  have  received 
of  us  how  ye  ought  to  walk  and  to  please  God,  so  ye 
would  abound  more  and  more." 

Could  we  carry  this  thought,  "By  this  I  am  pleasing 
God,"  into  our  duties,  how  it  would  help  us!  Oft- 
times  we  are  just  ready  for  duty,  our  tools  in  our 
hands  and  our  work  before  us,  when  a  friend  passes 
by  and  says,  "What  a  fool  you  are  to  do  that!"  He 
goes  his  way,  but  the  sting  remains,  and  the  sweet  and 
healthful  impulse  is  blighted  in  the  bud,  and  sadly  we 
leave  the  duty  undone. 

But  if  we  laid  firm  hold  on  this,  "This  is  what  God 
wants  me  to  do  and  this  pleases  Him,"  the  sneer  would 
have  no  effect.  There  would  then  be  Christ's  way  of 
looking  at  things,  who,  with  the  cross  before  Him, 
said  to  Pilate,  "To  this  end  was  I  born  and  for  this 
cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  wit- 
ness to  the  truth."  So  let  us  go  up  to  our  sacrifices 
and  duties  knowing  God  loves  us  and  has  given  us 
these  out  of  love,  and  by  these  we  shall  please  Him. 
As  the  great  tides  lift  the  vessel  above  the  sunken 
rocks  and  the  bar  which  at  low  tide  forbid  her  voy- 
age, so  shall  we  be  carried  triumphantly  over  sacri- 
fice and  hardship  which,  in  our  earthly  moods,  are 
barriers  that  cannot  be  overcome.  We  do  not  need 
another  cross.  We  need  another  spirit  under  the 
cross. 

Passing  over  the  rich  thought  that  we  please  God 
by  increasing  in  the  knowledge  of  God  (Col.  i  :  lo), 
let  us  see  that  to  please  God  we  must  love  Him.  There 
is  nothing  that  so  pleases  us  as  love  bestowed  upon 
us  by  another.  A  little  gift  with  love  to  the  true  man 
or  woman  is  worth  infinitely  more  than  a  jewel  given 
without  love.  That  which  God  desires  of  us  most  of  all, 
and  that  which  pleases  Him  the  best  of  all.  is  our  love. 
The  closing  word  of  the  great  High-priestly  prayer  is. 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  343 

"That  the  love  wherewith  Thou  hast  loved  me  may 
be  in  them,  and  I  in  them." 

This  love  comes  to  us  when  we  look  upon  Jesus  as 
He  reveals  the  love  of  God  to  us.  God  first  loves  us 
and  then  we  love  Him.  "We  love  Him  because  He 
first  loved  us."  That  love  is  made  known  to  us  in 
Christ  Jesus.  His  life  here  on  earth,  His  teaching, 
His  suffering  as  the  propitiation  for  our  sins.  His 
opening  of  the  glory  of  heaven,  His  gift  of  the  Spirit, 
all  these  tell  us  of  the  love  of  God  which  passeth 
knowledge.  As  our  minds  and  hearts  contemplate 
Jesus,  our  love  for  God  shall  dominate  our  whole  be- 
ing, and  we  shall  please  Him  and  seek  to  love  Him 
more  and  more. 

If  we  were  to  carry  with  us  constantly  this  thought 
that  we  can  please  God,  who  has  loved  us  and  loves 
us,  what  might  not  our  future  be!  What  triumphs 
of  loyalty  and  obedience  might  not  be  ours ! 

"In  the  last  days  of  Napoleon's  imperial  advances 
to  victory  this  happened.  It  was  a  great  battlefield, 
and  the  emperor,  surrounded  by  his  staff,  was  waiting 
at  a  critical  moment  for  news  from  beyond  the  hills. 
Suddenly  and  swiftly  there  was  seen  a  boy  riding 
across  the  battlefield,  riding  for  his  life.  He  crossed 
the  cannons,  ran  the  gauntlets  of  the  ranks  of  mus- 
ketry, and  he  came  where  Napoleon  stood.  Then  from 
his  breast  he  drew  a  dispatch  and  handed  it  to  the  em- 
peror. And  the  emperor  quietly  read  it  and  gave  his 
orders  accordingly;  and  then  turned  to  the  boy.  'My 
lad,'  he  said — so  runs  the  story — 'you  have  done  your 
duty;  you  have  helped  me  in  a  critical  moment.  You 
are  wounded.'  And  the  boy,  looking  up  at  the  face  of 
Napoleon  with  something  like  rebuking  tenderness, 
answered,  'Nay,  sire,  I  am  not  wounded ;  I  am  only 
killed !'  and  then  he  fell  from  his  horse.  And  Napoleon 
— even  Napoleon— turned  to  his  staff  and  pointed  to 
the  dead  boy,  saying,  'That  was  loyalty !'  " 

If  we  could  ever  comfort  and  inspire  ourselves  in 


344  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S,  ALBERT 

duty  and  sacrifice  with  this,  "By  this  I  can  please  God," 
our  loyalty  and  devotion  would  be  such  that  we  could 
do  and  sacrifice  to  the  utmost,  and  even  calmly  face 
death  to  serve  Him. 


FISHERS  OF  MEN 

"Follow  me  and  I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men," 
was  Christ's  call  to  the  fishermen,  Peter  and  Andrew. 
There  are  many  who  lay  more  stress  upon  the  second 
part  than  on  the  first,  and  elaborate  the  phrase,  "fishers 
of  men,"  dwelling  upon  the  characteristics  of  the  skill- 
ful fishermen  in  catching  fish. 

They  do  set  forth  truth,  but,  after  all,  when  we 
emphasize  the  second  clause,  are  we  not  missing  the 
greater  truth  for  the  lesser?  Jesus  says,  "Follow  me." 
If  this  be  done,  then,  "I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men." 
He  will  not  simply  teach  them  how  to  fish  for  men, 
but  make  them  fishers  of  men. 

These  are  the  days  of  manifold  methods,  with  con- 
stant iterations  of  their  efficiency  to  win  and  save  men. 
These  methods  may  be  useful,  but  they  do  not  come 
first.  They  may  even  prove  hindrances  and  disad- 
vantageous, through  them  ofttimes  never  a  man  saved. 
For  the  great  fact  is  that  he  who  follows  Christ  learns 
how  and  is  made  wise  to  save  men. 

He  that  follows  Christ  knows  Christ.  He  can  be 
known  in  no  other  way.  When  He  is  known  inti- 
mately then  we  can  present  Him  confidently  to  others 
as  Saviour.  To  make  Christ  real  to  others  He  must 
first  be  real  to  us.  When  He  is  real  to  us  then  our 
word,  tone  and  look  will  be  powerful  to  convey  Him  as 
the  Redeemer  to  others.  When  a  man  in  ordinary 
conversation  utters  a  sentence  fraught  with  intense 
conviction,  based  upon  experience,  everyone  realizes 
the  unlikeness  to  his  accustomed  talk.  It  arrests  at- 
tention, it  wins  respect,  even  if  it  does  not  lead  to  be- 
lief. Christ  becomes  real  to  us  when  we  follow  Him. 
And  then  He  will  be  made  real  to  others. 

An  old  woman,  tottering  and  feeble,  was  helped  up 
the  church  steps  by  a  gentleman  who  attended  church 

345 


346  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

faithfully,  but  was  no  Christian.  As  she  reached 
the  top  of  the  steps,  she  looked  in  his  face  and  said  to 
him,  "I  hope  you  love  Jesus  the  Saviour."  It  was  the 
word  of  one  who,  following  Jesus,  loved  Him.  The 
intense  conviction  of  the  words,  the  absolute  love 
wrought  on  his  heart,  and  the  man,  whom  all  skillful 
methods  had  hitherto  failed  to  move,  became  a  Chris- 
tian himself,  caught  in  the  gospel  net. 

The  apostles  became  skillful  fishers  of  men,  be- 
cause, following  Christ,  they  knew  Him.  They  saw 
His  work,  heard  His  gracious  words,  witnessed  His 
love,  knew  His  hatred  of  evil,  His  love  for  good.  They 
learned  that  He  knew  them-  as  God  knew  them,  that 
He  had  helped  according  to  their  needs,  that  He 
brought  peace  to  their  sin-tossed  hearts  and  joy  and 
the  Father's  love,  by  His  death  and  risen  life.  They 
knew  that  though  absent  from  sight.  He  was  still  their 
shepherd  and  friend,  able  to  care,  direct  and  save. 
They  could  say  with  unfaltering  conviction,  "We  know 
whom  we  believe.   He  is  the  Saviour  for  you  and  me." 

How  shall  we  follow  Him?  We  follow  Him  when 
we  take  up  our  cross  daily  for  His  sake  and  obey  Him. 
We  follow  Him  when  we  are  much  with  Him  in  His 
word.  "All,  therefore,  who  desire  implicit  confidence 
in  Him,  must  be  willing  to  spend  time  and  take  trouble 
to  get  into  the  heart  of  the  gospel  story  and  of  Christ 
Himself.  The  sure  anchorage  is  not  attainable  by  a 
listless,  random  reading  of  the  evangelic  narratives, 
but  by  a  close  and  prayerful  study,  pursued  it  may  be 
for  years."  Such  will  not  be  thrown  into  panic  by  the 
books  or  words  of  infidels,  or  by  the  strange  provi- 
dences of  life.  They  will  trust  and  find  their  trust 
justified. 

Follow  Christ,  and  the  believer  looks  upon  men  as 
Christ  looked  at  them.  He  loved  all  men.  He  knew 
them  as  children  of  God.  Even  when  sinners  they 
were  children  astray,  but  children  who  could  return. 
To  Him  nothing  was  so  precious  as  a  soul,  nothing  so 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  347 

awful  as  sin,  nothing  so  desirable  as  righteousness  with 
God,  no  destiny  like  that  of  the  soul  to  a  blessed 
eternity.  No  wonder  He  labored  to  save,  suffered  and 
died  to  bring  all  to  the  knowledge  of  the  love  of  God 
and  His  righteousness. 

The  men  that  followed  Him  and  saw  this  desire 
caught  His  spirit.  They  loved  men  and  prized  men. 
The  soul  was  the  real  royalty  of  men.  The  sonship 
with  God  made  the  humblest  man  a  king.  It  swept 
away  all  distinctions.  The  real  treasures  of  this  world 
were  not  silver,  or  gold,  or  jewels,  but  men  made  in 
the  image  of  God.  Like  Him,  they  shuddered  over  sin 
and  knew  its  awful  end,  no  matter  how  entrancingly  it 
presented  itself.  No  wonder  they  were  successful  fish- 
ers of  men  and  numbered  multitudes  as  the  rewards  of 
their  soul-fishing. 

Nor  can  it  be  otherwise  with  us.  With  Jesus,  we 
know  men  as  God's  children,  heirs  of  heaven  ;  we  know 
the  awful  end  of  sin,  the  worth  of  a  life  lived  with 
Him  in  its  righteousness,  peace  and  joy.  Woe  is  unto 
us  if  we  preach  not  the  gospel.  There  is  an  account 
of  a  man  who  in  a  shipwreck  hurriedly  caught  up  his 
gold  and  tied  it  in  a  belt  about  his  waist.  Just  as  he 
was  about  to  leap  off  the  sinking  vessel,  a  little  hand 
grasped  him ;  turning,  he  found  a  little  girl,  who  said, 
"Save  me,  save  me !"  It  was  either  the  child  or  the 
gold — ^a  struggle,  and  then  the  gold  was  cast  away.  He 
leaped  with  her  into  the  waves,  and  battled  bravely  for 
the  shore.  As  he  gained  the  beach  he  was  stunned  by 
a  blow.  When  he  regained  consciousness  he  found 
the  little  girl  by  his  side  saying,  "I  am  here,  too,  safe." 
Sweet  reward ! — yet  not  so  sweet  as  that  shall  be  which 
will  be  when  the  believer  shall  be  greeted  by  those 
whom  he  has  saved,  saying  joyfully.  "I  am  here  too." 

Follow  Jesus,  and  men  are  taught  His  zvays  of  work- 
ing. There  was  nothing  cut  and  dried  about  Christ's 
methods  with  men.  One  man  He  sends  home  who 
wants  to  follow  Him ;  another  He  tells  to  leave  all. 


348  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES   S.  ALBERT 

home  and  friends,  and  follow  Him.  One  He  asks  to 
sell  all  he  has  and  give  it  to  the  poor,  if  he  would  be 
His  disciple ;  another  He  allows  to  keep  all.  He  adapts 
His  teaching  to  the  men  who  hear  Him.  He  heals 
sometimes  without  being  asked ;  others  must  plead  for 
the  healing  again  and  again.  He  dealt  with  men  ac- 
cording to  their  temperaments  and  knowledge.  Men 
differ,  as  the  flowers  differ.  The  great  Master  treated 
the  flowers  of  the  human  garden  to  such  light  and 
shade,  soil  and  cultivation,  as  might  bring  them  to  joy- 
ous bloom. 

The  men  that  follow  Christ  will  learn  His  ways  of 
working.  Men  will  be  studied  by  them  as  Christ 
studied  them,  and  they  will  vary  their  methods  to  suit 
the  circumstances  and  dispositions. 

Three  things  will  be  mighty  in  this : 

First.  He  that  follows  Christ  will  know  His  words, 
His  own  words  and  the  words  of  the  apostles  and  the 
prophets  whom  He  had  filled  with  His  Spirit.  The 
word  of  God  is  quick  and  powerful.  Christ  used  it 
again  and  again  in  His  teachings  and  controversies, 
and  always  with  powerful  effect.  It  was  ever  on  the 
apostles'  lips.  They  were  fishers  of  men,  because  by 
the  word  they  laid  hold  upon  their  souls.  Luther  was 
powerful  because  he  knew  the  Word  ;  with  it  he  brought 
men  into  the  kingdom  of  righteousness,  peace  and 
joy.  Every  wise  winner  of  souls  is  a  man  of  the  word. 
Much  of  Moody's  success  is  due  to  his  knowledge  of 
the  Bible. 

Second.  The  sagacity  of  love  will  teach  us  how  to 
save  men.  He  that  would  love  must  follow  Christ 
until  he  loves  men  as  He  did.  It  is  remarkable  how 
Christlike  love  will  make  a  man  a  good  fisher  of  men. 
The  love  itself  prepares  the  way.  Men  instinctively 
feel  that  love,  and  will  bear  from  it  what  they  would 
deny  to  everything  else.  The  very  tones  of  love  cause 
the  ear  to  hear  and  the  heart  to  open,  whilst  love  itself 
is  sagacious,  knowing  both  when  and  how  to  talk.     It 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  349 

makes  men  full  of  tact  and  wisdom.  It  knows  how 
much  and  how  little  to  say.  How  easily  the  old  minis- 
ter reaches  the  heart  of  the  careless  mother  as  he  says 
to  her,  smiling  upon  the  babe  nestling  in  her  arms, 
*'Oh  that  you  would  rest  like  this  little  child  in  the 
arms  of  your  heavenly  Father!" 

Third.  He  that  follows  Christ,  Christ  will  make  a 
fisher  of  men.  because  He  will  give  to  him  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  given  to  such  as  obey  Him. 
Need  we  add  another  word?  The  Holy  Ghost  in  us 
will  give  us  wisdom  and  knowledge.  He  will  make  our 
tongue  eloquent,  He  will  fill  us  with  love,  He  will 
prepare  men's  hearts  to  receive  the  word  that  He  will 
put  upon  our  lips.  "Follow  me  and  I  will  make  you 
fishers  of  men." 


GIVING 

The  money  and  the  material  which  David  gath- 
ered for  the  building  of  the  temple  were  immense  in 
value.  To  this  great  sum  the  princes  contributed 
freely,  whilst  Solomon  still  further  increased  the 
amount,  and,  in  addition,  paid  Hiram's  workmen  in 
the  fruits  of  the  land.  The  temple  represents,  there- 
fore, a  liberality  which  was  both  generous  and  self- 
sacrificing. 

The  Lord  looked  upon  these  offerings  with  favor. 
They  were  pleasing  unto  Him.  To  beautify  and  adorn 
His  temple  was  then  a  duty,  as  it  is  a  duty  to  beautify 
and  adorn  His  house  to-day.  There  are  many  who 
decry  any  adornment  of  church  buildings  and  demand 
that  the  money  thus  expended  should  be  given  to  the 
poor,  to  missions,  and  the  like.  In  a  certain  sense  they 
are  right.  The  congregation  that  burdens  itself  with 
a  costly  building,  a  high-priced  minister  secured  for 
his  silver  tongue,  a  choir  made  up  of  expensive  and  in- 
comprehensible voices,  until  it  is  not  able  to  give  to  the 
work  of  the  Lord  elsewhere  save  in  pitiable  sums,  is 
doing  wrong.  There  is  a  congregational  selfishness 
just  as  there  is  an  individual  selfishness.  A  family  may 
find  abundant  opportunity  to  spend  their  total  income 
upon  themselves,  and  may  have  nothing  for  the  poor, 
the  church,  the  things  of  God.     It  is,  however,  the  « 

rankest  selfishness.     It  is  the  utter  denial  of  steward-  I 

ship.  It  is  a  defying  of  God's  teaching  and  com- 
mands. Their  end  is  outlined  by  Christ  in  the  fate  of 
the  rich  man  in  the  parable  of  Lazarus  and  Dives.  A 
congregation  is  a  Christian  family.  It  has  a  right  to 
spend  on  its  own  building  and  machinery  a  portion  of 
its  income,  but  when  it  spends  all,  or  nearly  all,  on  self, 
its  own  poor,  its  own  ends,  it  is  an  example  of  a  Chris- 
tian family  living  in  selfishness  for  which  they  shall 

350 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  351 

be  held  to  strict  account  by  Him  who  intends  them 
to  be  a  center  of  gracious  intiuence  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth. 

There  is,  however,  another  side.  There  is  a  judi- 
cious expenditure  on  building  and  equipment  which 
the  temple  illustrates  and  justifies.  There  are  some 
people  who  oppose  all  such  expenditures  because  they 
do  not  want  to  give  to  anything.  They  are  like  Judas, 
who  found  fault  with  the  generous  woman  who  broke 
the  alabaster  box  of  ointment  and  poured  its  fragrance 
on  His  head.  He  said,  "Why  was  not  this  ointment 
sold  for  three  hundred  pence  and  given  to  the  poor?" 
Not  that  he  cared  for  the  poor,  but  because  he  was 
covetous.  There  are  expenditures  for  the  honor  and 
glory  of  Christ  that  are  precious  unto  Him. 

Do  we  not  reach  here  the  test  of  giving,  not  alone 
its  test,  but  the  secret  of  generous  giving?  That  is 
truly  Christian  giving  which  is  offered  for  Christ's 
sake,  and  it  becomes  easy  and  great  when  there  is  love 
in  the  heart  for  Christ. 

It  is  w^orthy  of  thought  that  giving  is  the  direct  re- 
sult of  gratitude  and  love.  It  is  praise  in  highest 
form,  for  it  is  love  expressing  itself  in  that  which 
costs.  It  shows  a  thanksgiving  so  deep  down  that  it 
overcomes  self  and  the  gratification  of  self.  How- 
easy  it  is  to  sing  praises  and  even  to  pray,  especially 
for  what  is  wanted !  Yet.  to  praise  God  aright,  to  the 
offering  of  self  and  of  possessions,  how  difficult !  It 
is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  Bible  contains  146  exhor- 
tations to  prayer  and  supplication,  and  429  verses  which 
bid  men  sing,  praise  and  give  thanks,  an  indication 
"that  as  worship  is  more  than  work,  so  praise  is 
higher  than  prayer."  The  giving  from  a  thankful  heart 
unto  God  is  a  test  of  the  sincerity  of  praise.  There 
is  an  old  story  of  a  visiting  minister  who  was  much 
annoyed  by  a  brother  shouting.  "Glory !  Hallelujah  !" 
opportunely  and  inopportunely.  He  asked  the  pastor 
whether  he  could  not  quiet  him.     "Easily,"  was  the 


352  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES   S.  ALBERT 

reply.  Leaving  the  pulpit,  he  went  to  the  man  and 
spoke  to  him.  The  man  became  as  dumb  as  an  oyster. 
The  visitor,  amazed,  asked,  "What  did  you  say  to  him 
to  hush  him  up  so  effectually?"  "Oh,"  was  the  dry 
response,  "I  asked  him  for  a  dollar  for  foreign  mis- 
sions." His  praise  was  lip-praise.  When  that  which 
tested  the  heart  was  asked,  there  was  no  giving,  no 
offering  of  praise  which  cost. 

There  can  also  be  no  question  that  giving  is  a  grace 
to  be  cultivated,  even  as  Paul  teaches.  It  is  well  to 
begin  as  we  do  in  the  Sunday  school,  and  train  the 
children  to  give  to  causes  away  from  home,  for  Christ's 
sake,  and  because  it  is  His  work.  It  is  well  to  practice 
this  individually  for  ourselves,  because  we  see  it  is  our 
privilege,  that  it  is  what  Christ  desires,  that  it  is  among 
the  noblest  deeds  we  can  do,  that  we  thus  enlarge  the 
kingdom,  and  seeing  all  this  resolutely  set  apart  a  just 
portion  of  our  means  for  His  purposes.  The  old 
selfishness  may  rebel,  but,  if  we  persist,  by  the  grace 
of  God  it  may  be  overcome,  and  the  joy  of  giving  be- 
come ours,  and  we  escape  that  covetousness  which  is 
idolatry,  the  ruin  of  many  a  saint  who  began  well,  but 
passed  slowly  under  its  power  and  at  last  became  its 
slave,  retaining  an  outward  form  of  godliness,  but 
dead  within. 

A  little  thoughtfulness  must  convince  us  that  few  of 
us  give  out  of  our  poverty.  We  give  out  of  our 
abundance,  and  what  can  be  spared  without  incon- 
veniencing ourselves.  Contrast  what  is  spent  upon 
self,  clothing,  our  homes,  our  pleasures,  our  summer 
outings,  our  own  desires,  with  what  is  given  to  the 
cause  of  Christ,  and  we  are  humiliated  by  perceiving 
how  much  self  receives  and  how  little  Christ.  In  these 
days,  when  hard  times  are  heard  on  every  side,  and 
with  justice,  they  are  set  forth  as  an  excuse  why  the 
great  missionary  treasuries  are  suffering  for  funds. 
If  we  looked  at  Christ's  servants  as  Christ  looks  at 
them,  and  observed  how  they  live,  the  useless  expendi- 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  353 

tures,  the  luxuries,  the  pleasures,  would  not  we  be 
constrained  to  say,  "The  fault  is  not  in  the  hard  times, 
but  in  the  seltishness  of  Christ's  own  people,  who  can- 
not deny  themselves  for  His  sake"?  Perhaps  we  will 
have  the  courage  as  individuals  to  put  ourselves  in  His 
lig-ht  and  look  upon  ourselves,  li  we  have,  the  result 
will  be  sure,  self-denial  and  larger  offerings.  These 
hard  times  will  then  be  for  good.  They  will  teach  us 
to  give  at  cost  to  ourselves,  they  will  bring  to  us  the 
divine  joy  that  lies  at  the  heart  of  all  sacrifice  for 
Christ. 

23 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION 

In  a  delightful  book  occurs  this  sentence :  "With- 
out religious  instruction  there  can  be  no  religion;  peo- 
ple may  practice  it  a  little,  rites  may  be  accomplished 
more  or  less,  but  there  is  no  Christianity."  The  Bible 
insists  upon  the  same  truth,  that  there  must  be  in- 
struction in  the  law,  in  the  history  of  God's  people,  in 
the  truths  of  religion,  in  precepts  to  be  obeyed  and 
promises  to  be  possessed.  The  New  Testament  is  em- 
phatic that  this  religious  instruction  is  part  of  the 
duties  of  parents,  to  be  begun  with  the  earliest  dawn 
of  consciousness.  "Bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and 
admonition  of  the  Lord." 

These  early  teachings  are  the  most  lasting  and  valu- 
able. They  sink  deep  into  the  heart,  they  prepossess 
the  mind,  and  resist  the  evil  which  craves  entrance. 
Through  them  are  formed  habits  which  make  the  child 
move  easily  in  the  right  and  the  truth.  The  vitality 
of  these  early  impressions  is  amazing.  There  is  noth- 
ing that  stays  and  grows  like  the  teaching  of  a  Chris- 
tian father  and  mother.  Other  influences  weaken ;  but 
this,  given  in  love,  grows  as  the  experiences  of  life 
witness  to  its  truth.  "Its  tenderness  takes  on  an  un- 
speakable ever-growing  pathos.  It  melts  and  subdues 
and  how  often,  at  last,  does  it  conquer  and  win !"  If 
one  could  only  learn  the  hidden  facts  in  the  sudden 
conversion  of  apparently  hardened  sinners,  often  far 
back  in  childhood  would  be  found  the  teachings  of 
home,  the  prayers  of  sainted  father  and  mother,  which 
dropped  imperishable  seed  into  the  young  heart,  which 
hidden,  but  living,  at  last  bore  fruit  in  what  is  called  a 
miracle  of  grace. 

There  lingers  as  a  tender  and  sacred  memory  the 
death  of  one  who  had  nobly  served  for  almost  four 
score  years  the  Master,  holding  forth  Him  and  His 

354 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  355 

gospel  with  untiring  zeal  and  tenderness.  When  at 
last  the  end  came,  consciousness  of  those  around  him 
departed.  But  they  heard  him  praying,  and  the 
prayer  was  the  German  child's  prayer  he  had  learned 
at  his  mother's  knee.  The  great,  strong  soul  came  back 
to  childhood's  teaching,  and  went  to  the  Master  he 
loved  with  the  words  with  which  he  first  learned  to 
commend  himself  to  Him. 

There  have  been  those  who  have  said  these  early 
instructions  warp  the  child's  judgment,  give  it  a  trend 
from  which  it  cannot  break  away  without  violence. 
They  say  the  child  should  neither  be  taught  one  thing 
or  another,  but  come  with  unprejudiced  mind  to 
faith  and  religion  to  judge  for  itself.  There  comes 
the  rub.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  an  unprejudiced 
mind.  All  of  us  are  colored  by  our  surroundings.  If 
good  is  not  taught,  evil  will  be.  "We  must  care  for 
our  boys,  or  the  devil  will,"  said  a  young  Sabbath 
.-x-hool  teacher.  "The  devil  will  care  for  them  any- 
way." answered  the  old  superintendent.  "The  devil 
will  not  neglect  them  even  though  we  do."  It  is  our 
business  to  teach  the  truth  as  we  know  it.  Not  to  do 
that  is  to  wrong  the  child  and  put  him  helpless  in  the 
power  of  evil.  Paul  did  but  commend  Timothy  that 
his  mother,  Lois,  and  grandmother,  Eunice,  had  taught 
him  from  babyhood  the  Scriptures.  "Able  to  make  him 
wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus." 

As  the  child  comes  under  other  teachers  and  takes 
upon  himself  vigor  of  thought  and  research,  it  is  just 
a^  essential  to  continue  religious  instruction.  He  ought 
to  be  in  the  congregation  to  hear  the  pastor's  religious 
teaching  from  the  pulpit  and  in  the  catechism.  He 
should  be  in  the  Bible  school,  the  Sunday  school,  even 
up  to  and  beyond  manhood. 

The  teaching  of  the  child  calls  for  the  utmost  care 
and  thoughtful  consideration  of  his  character,  and 
wise   understanding  of   tnith   upon   the   part   of   the 


356  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.   ALBERT 

teacher.  Austin  Phelps,  for  instance,  tells  us  that  when 
he  was  a  child  a  child-revival  took  place  which  threw 
him  into  great  distress,  as  he  was  urged  to  believe  in 
Jesus,  when  through  training  and  unconscious  choice 
he  was  already  His.  "What  I  needed,  as  I  now  look 
back  to  the  state  of  my  mind,  was  to  be  made  to  be- 
lieve in  truth-telling,  honor,  honesty,  unselfishness,  care 
for  the  happiness  of  others,  as  Christian  things,  as 
well  as  love  to  God  and  trust  in  Christ."  There  must 
be  judgment.  There  are  those  that  need  conversion, 
others  are  in  the  Lord  and  need  direction. 

There  should  be  unceasing  desire  to  unfold  the 
truths  of  Christ,  His  character.  His  work,  His  teach- 
ings. His  demands,  enforced,  explained  and  illustrated 
by  the  Bible,  by  history,  by  life.  None  may  compute 
the  value  of  such  seed  sowing.  Cotton  Mather's 
"Essay  to  Do  Good,"  read  by  the  boy  Franklin,  in- 
fluenced his  whole  life.  Beecher  said  that  Ruskin's 
works  taught  him  the  secret  of  seeing,  and  that  no  man 
could  ever  again  be  quite  the  same  man  or  look 
at  the  world  in  the  same  way  after  reading  him.  "The 
Imitation  of  Christ,"  and  Taylor's  "Holy  Living  and 
Dying,"  determined  the  character  of  John  Wesley. 
These  and  numberless  more  prove  the  value  of  truth 
given  by  another.  But  none  of  these  can  compare 
with  the  Scriptures,  "inspired  of  God,  profitable  for 
teaching,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction 
which  is  righteousness ;  that  the  man  of  God  may  be 
furnished  completely  unto  every  good  work." 

In  our  day,  in  the  rush  of  secular  instruction,  there 
is  constant  danger  that  religious  instruction  be  thrust 
aside.  There  is  neither  time  nor  place  for  what  is, 
after  all,  the  primal  necessity.  Secular  instruction  is 
good  for  this  life.  In  a  certain  sense,  the  knowledge 
there  is  also  knowledge  of  God.  This  world,  with  its 
wondrous  laws,  its  harmonies,  its  adaptations,  its 
beauties,  set  forth  His  wisdom.  These  are  the  robe 
of  His  glory.    These  are  not  the  truth  that  is  highest. 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  357 

the  truth  that  admits  to  sonship  and  fellowship  with 
the  Father  and  makes  men  holy.  Forever  stands  the 
word  of  Christ :  "Sanctify  them  by  Thy  truth ;  Thy 
zvord  is  truth."  Only  through  it  are  men  brought  out 
of  sin  into  sonship,  and  only  by  it  does  the  Holy  Spirit 
continue  His  work  in  the  heart,  bringing  them  to  the 
Father,  meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints. 

Nor  must  we  ourselves  forget  that  we  are  learners 
even  when  w-e  have  no  school-teacher  over  us.  In- 
struction must  be  sought  from  the  pulpit,  and  woe  to 
the  preacher  who  gives  men  stones  instead  of  the  bread 
of  life.  It  must  be  sought  in  diligent  study  of  the 
word  of  God,  where  we  seek  to  come  in  contact  with 
Christ  Himself,  learning  of  Him ;  in  the  words  and 
writings  of  others,  gathering,  as  the  bee  gathers  honey 
from  flowers,  from  them  the  truths  that  help  us,  widen 
our  thought,  spur  us  to  action,  unfold  the  hidden  wis- 
dom; in  life  itself,  where  God  makes  His  truth  real 
to  us  when  we  work  for  Him,  keep  His  command- 
ments, bear  His  crosses.  Then  will  truth  ever  be  real 
and  absorbing,  and  Christ  grow  unspeakably  precious, 
God  be  surer  than  the  solid  earth  upon  which  we  stand. 


UNKNOWN  RESULTS 

Several  instances  have  come  to  the  writer  lately  of 
good  which  followed  from  words  spoken  many  years^ 
ago.  During  all  this  period  he  was  entirely  ignorant 
of  these  results.  He  had  spoken  his  message,  which 
had  fallen  into  receptive  hearts,  but  he  knew  it  not. 

One  of  them  may  be  cited.  A  young  man  in  doubt 
concerning  his  duty  came  to  the  writer's  church.  He 
was  a  stranger  and  of  another  denomination,  yet  the 
sermon  he  heard  gave  him  light  and  led  him  into  the 
ministry  of  his  own  people. 

There  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  workers  when  they 
can  perceive  known  results  which  almost  immediately 
follow  their  Christian  endeavor.  They  are  encouraged 
by  these  evidences  that  their  labor  is  not  in  vain,  and, 
rejoicing,  continue  their  efforts. 

Much,  however,  of  the  results  of  faithful  work  and 
living  does  not  appear  at  once.  Truth  taken  in  the 
heart  is  as  the  grain  of  wheat  that  falls  into  the  ground, 
which  must  have  a  long  time  before  it  becomes  the 
golden  grain  of  the  harvest  field.  Indeed,  the  Saviour 
intimates  in  the  parable  of  the  sower  that  many  who 
are  readily  impressed  as  readily  fall  away.  They  are 
emotional,  superficial,  and  are  never  really  possessed 
by  the  truth,  never  take  it  into  the  depths  of  the  heart. 

We  should  not  be  cast  down,  therefore,  when  we 
do  not  perceive  that  our  words  and  works  are  effective. 
Those  whom  we  serve,  or  with  whom  we  associate, 
may  be  more  deeply  affected  than  we  think.  Time  is 
needed  that  the  truth  they  have  taken  into  the  heart 
may  germinate,  grow  and  come  to  fruitage. 

One  of  the  curious  phases  of  the  human  heart  is  the 
tendency  to  conceal  the  spiritual  struggle  going  on 
within.  It  has  often  been  observed  that  just  before 
one  surrenders  himself  to  Christ  he  may  be  more  reck- 

358 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  359 

less  and  defiant  than  usual,  seeking  to  hide  from  others 
the  striving  of  the  Spirit  within  him.  As  we  cannot 
read  hearts,  we  should  be  hopeful  and  patient.  Saul 
of  Tarsus  was  the  prototype  of  numbers  since.  One 
day  he  persecuted,  the  next  day  he  asked,  "Lord,  what 
wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do?" 

There  are  times,  also,  when  the  words  which  we 
prepare  for  a  particular  one,  and  which  we  are  sure 
must  move  him,  fail  entirely  with  him,  but  are  the 
means  of  salvation  to  others.  Lady  Huntington 
pressed  on  one  of  her  servants  the  consideration  of 
eternal  things ;  he  appeared  to  pay  no  attention  and  she 
saw  no  reward ;  but  the  gardener  heard  the  conversa- 
tion through  a  hole  in  the  wall,  and  became  a  man  of 
prayer. 

Referring  back  to  our  own  experience,  it  may  just 
be  possible  that  the  sermon  which  brought  the  young 
man  to  decision  may  not  have  impressed  one  of  our 
own  congregation.  It  was  to  him  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  to  him  the  stranger,  the  unknown.  All  these 
years  since,  that  word  had  been  fruitful,  but  we  knew 
it  not.  How  foolish,  therefore,  to  have  despaired  be- 
cause we  perceived  no  known  results. 

Perhaps  we  are  too  anxious  for  results.  It  may  not 
always  be  best  that  we  should  perceive  them.  Not  a 
few  popular  and  successful  preachers  have  become 
castaways.  They  became  intoxicated  with  success  and 
the  praise  of  men,  and  lost  their  humble  trust  in  God. 
Self  came  between  them  and  the  Saviour  and  ruined 
them. 

Jeremiah  is  one  of  the  noblest  characters  of  the  Old 
Testament,  because  though  it  was  his  hard  lot  to  toil 
among  an  unbelieving  and  sinful  people,  upon  whom 
his  words  were  wasted,  or  roused  them  to  bitterly  op- 
pose and  persecute  him.  nevertheless  he  was  steadfast 
and  true  to  his  mission.  Yet  he  was  the  stay  of  the 
righteous  of  his  day,  and  he  influenced  mightily  the 
generation   that   followed.     He  knew   not  these  last 


360  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

results  on  earth,  but  is  it  too  much  to  believe  that  he 
knew  them  in  heaven  ? 

It  may  be  our  lot  to  bear  witness  for  Christ,  and  yet, 
like  Jeremiah,  be  scorned  or  be  given  indifferent  at- 
tention, but  we  may  be  sure  that  the  words  will  be 
heeded  by  some,  and  when  we  have  passed  away  there 
may  be  rich  fruitage. 

Division  of  labor  is  one  of  God's  laws.  One  sows 
and  another  reaps.  It  constantly  happens  that  the 
teacher  who  really  prepared  the  soil,  sowed  the  seed, 
nurtured  the  growing  character,  does  not  gather  into 
the  gamer  of  Christ.  Another  comes  and  reaps  and 
receives  the  praise.  "Success,  however,  is  the  world's 
criterion  of  merit ;  fidelity  is  God's.  The  reward  of 
being  faithful  over  a  few  things  is  just  the  same  as 
being  faithful  over  many  things ;  for  the  emphasis 
falls  upon  the  same  word ;  it  is  the  'faithful'  who  will 
enter  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord."  The  soldiers  who 
fell  at  San  Juan  and  El  Caney  deserve  and  receive  our 
honor  as  much  as  those  who  won  the  entrenchments 
and  compelled  the  surrender  of  Santiago.  The  Lord 
knows  to  whom  the  success  of  the  work  belongs,  and 
He  will  honor  His  workmen  aright.  We  can  rest  con- 
tent with  that. 

Yet,  let  us  not  mistake.  In  all  labor  there  must  be 
fitness.  Men  differ  in  disposition  and  require  different 
methods  of  dealing.  One  teacher  may  succeed  where 
another  fails.  As  one  has  said :  "A  Sunday  school 
teacher  toils  almost  hopelessly  over  a  rude  boy  in  the 
class  ;  another  person  comes,  and  the  spell  of  resistance 
is  dissolved.  The  one  teacher  is  no  better  than  the 
other,  only  the  one  is  unlike  the  other.  God  uses  the 
mere  personal  characteristics  of  both  at  His  will." 

Nor  should  we  overlook  another  fact,  that  we  often 
reap  the  labors  of  another.  Under  our  ministry,  de- 
cision is  reached  and  confession  is  made,  a  soul  is 
saved.  But  if  we  could  search  out  the  influence  that 
wrought  to  make  the  change,  we  would  find  that  a 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  361 

mother's  prayers,  a  father's  influence,  another's  words, 
were  the  efficient  causes  of  the  conversion,  which  we 
claim  humanly  as  our  own. 

Nevertheless,  the  faithful  worker  may  constantly 
expect,  as  his  years  increase,  to  hear  of  results  which 
were  due  to  his  words,  prayers,  life  and  influence. 
These  unknown  results  becoming  known  will  bring  to 
him  the  swetest  joy.  joy  with  which  nothing  else  can 
compare,  the  joy  of  doing  good,  the  joy  of  Christ,  the 
Great  Teacher. 

Much  will  never  be  known  in  this  life.  Some  re- 
sults will  be  hidden  until  we  reach  the  other  side. 
When  the  unwritten  history  shall  be  read,  then  shall 
the  blessed  results  of  work  and  words  be  known  to 
our  eternal  praise,  honor  and  glory.  Blessed,  indeed, 
are  those  who  amid  the  joys  of  heaven  shall  be  glad 
with  this  peculiar  joy.  Blessed  to  hear  from  the  re- 
deemed. "Through  thee  I  learned  to  love  Christ  and 
came  into  life  everlasting." 


THE  HIGHEST  THINGS 

Many  of  the  best  things  that  have  ever  been  written 
or  spoken  were  not  the  results  of  long-continued  study 
upon  them  directly.  All  of  us  are  familiar  with  the 
circumstances  under  which  the  immortal  Gettysburg 
address  of  Lincoln  was  written.  On  the  back  of  an 
envelope,  during  the  journey  thither,  the  words  were 
hastily  jotted  down.  The  polished  and  laborious  ad- 
dress of  Edward  Everett  is  forgotten;  Lincoln's  lives 
and  will  always  live. 

Among  the  Christian  lyrics  that  promise  to  abide 
is  that  of  "O  Little  Town  of  Bethlehem."  It  was 
written  one  evening  near  Christmas  by  Phillips  Brooks, 
apparently  thrown  off  by  him  without  premeditation 
or  patient  labor.  There  is  in  it  that  beauty  of  diction 
wedded  to  rare  thought  that  bespeaks  for  it  immortal- 
ity. What  is  true  of  these  is  also  true  of  much  of 
the  best  that  was  ever  written  or  sung.  They  were  the 
fruits  of  what  we  call  inspiration. 

We  would  be  very  foolish,  however,  to  reason  that 
because  men  specially  gifted  had  reached  their  high- 
est things  in  this  fashion  that  we  must  also  reach  them 
in  the  same  way.  These  gifted  ones  themselves  did 
not  reach  these  heights  without  labor.  Looking  back 
over  their  lives,  we  discover  that  they  were  men  who 
lived  with  a  purpose  and  who  deemed  no  study  too 
great  or  hard  to  accomplish  their  purpose.  They  toiled 
in  thought  until  what  they  studied  became  part  of  the 
soul  and  was  woven  into  the  very  fiber  of  their  charac- 
ter. Lincoln  was  eminently  a  master  of  pure  English, 
which  he  had  acquired  by  his  familiarity  in  early  days 
with  the  Bible  and  Bunyan's  "Pilgrim's  Progress."  He 
had  a  wonderful  faculty  of  presenting  ideas  clearly, 
but  it  had  its  origin  in  the  mathematics  he  laboriously 
mastered.    For  years  his  sympathies  had  been  with  the 

362 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  363 

soldiers,  whom  he  bore  on  his  great  heart,  anguished 
for  them  and  his  beloved  country.  Therefore,  these 
highest  words  were  the  fruit  of  years  of  patient  work, 
and  simply  unfolded  as  the  rose  opens  its  lovely  petals 
in  a  night,  because  of  the  long  months  of  patient  growth 
before.  It  is  true  also  that  Phillips  Brooks  wrote  "O 
Little  Town  of  Bethlehem"  after  years  of  thought  and 
life.  He  was  essentially  a  student  of  books,  of  men, 
of  Christ.  He  lived  the  truth  which  he  learned.  There- 
fore he  drew  near  to  Christ  and  found  Him  "the 
brightness  of  the  Father's  glory  and  the  express  image 
of  His  person."  The  incarnation  was  most  precious 
because  it  held  the  truth  of  God's  love  and  redemp- 
tion. Therefore  he  could  write  these  words  so  full 
of  reverence  and  wonder  that  God's  own  Son  should 
choose  this  little  town  of  Bethlehem,  where  He  might 
come  to  us  in  the  flesh  of  a  little  babe. 

Indeed,  the  impression  that  prevails,  that  genius 
always  produces  its  highest  things  without  labor,  is 
most  inaccurate.  Says  one  of  that  great  work  of 
Beethoven's,  "The  Choral  Symphony,"  "It  is  curious 
to  find  that  so  early  as  1793,  when  Beethoven  was  but 
twenty-two  or  twenty-three  years  of  age,  a  friend 
writes  of  him :  'He  intends  to  compose  Schiller's 
"Frende,"  verse  by  verse' ;  and  from  that  time  onward 
in  his  sketch-books  at  intervals  occur  Schiller's  words 
with  musical  settings,  down  to  1822,  when  the  theme 
takes  its  present  form.  For  thirty  years  these  words, 
embodying  in  a  kind  of  joint  human  and  religious 
fervor  the  strongly  revolutionary  sentiments  of  1785, 
when  they  were  written,  had  been  floating  in  Beetho- 
ven's mind;  for  thirty  years  he  had  tried  to  find  music 
adequate  to  their  expression."  He  could  not  strike 
the  note  of  absolute  simplicity,  of  freedom,  of  loving 
human  equality,  until  he  had  gained  the  experience 
which  came  through  years  of  labor,  sorrow  and  joy. 

Out  of  these  things  there  come  to  us  who  are  less 
gifted  certain  lessons.     We  need  to  make  the  most 


364  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

of  the  Opportunities  of  study  and  living  that  God 
gives  to  us.  The  daily  thought  and  study  of  the  truth 
are  apt  to  be  tiresome  sometimes,  and  appear  to  give 
us  little  results.  We  study,  but  all  we  appear  to  get 
are  platitudes  which  everyone  knows.  Yet  we  must 
not  forget  that  platitudes  are,  after  all,  the  necessary 
truths,  and,  if  we  study  them  until  we  see  them  as  they 
are,  and  give  them  with  our  heart  in  the  words, 
others  will  not  only  listen,  but  be  stirred  by  them  into 
resolution  and  effort. 

We  need  to  remember  that  we  are  not  to  wait  until 
inspiration  comes,  that  is,  until  we  are  so  full  of  a 
subject,  or  a  lesson  to  teach,  that  we  cannot  help 
writing  or  talking  about  it.  It  is  a  remarkable  thing 
that  by  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  best  things  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  they  had  to  be  done.  Often  the 
writer  sits  down  with  little  inclination  to  write,  but 
as  he  writes  the  thoughts  come  and  the  sentences  that 
lift  and  inspire  are  given  form.  There  may  be  little 
inclination  to  take  up  a  passage  of  Scripture,  but  sit 
down,  study  it  faithfully,  with  petition,  and  lo !  as  you 
labor  there  come  understanding  and  insight.  Never 
forget  also  that  the  Spirit  works  through  the  word, 
and  cannot  use  you  when  He  would  if  you  are  igno- 
rant of  that  word.  Knowledge  of  the  word  is  the  fruit 
of  study  and  obedience  to  it  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  can- 
not be  learned  in  any  other  way.  We  often  fail  with 
right  words  to  others  simply  because  we  have  neg- 
lected to  study  the  word  in  the  past. 

We  need  to  remember  that  the  highest  things  for 
us  may  come  suddenly.  Whatever  flower  of  wisdom, 
beauty  and  truth  these  lives  of  ours  may  produce  can 
come  only  through  the  patient  effort  and  life.  But 
when  we  are  faithful,  suddenly  it  may  come  and  come 
again  and  again,  as  the  rose  tree  crowns  itself  with 
the  rose  of  fragrance  and  beauty  in  a  night,  repeating 
the  wonder  at  intervals  until  the  night  of  winter's 
death  comes. 


PATIENCE 

Among  the  virtues  underestimated  by  many,  pa- 
tience must  be  placed,  for  it  is  not  a  quality  that  com- 
pels attention  as  courage,  for  instance,  does.  It  is 
more  like  the  discipline  that  makes  the  victories  of 
courage  possible  and  curbs  its  rashness  in  the  hour 
of  triumph.  Discipline  is  not  attractive.  It  is  an  every- 
day affair  as  well  as  the  business  of  many  days,  with 
much  to  bear  and  little  to  inspire.  Patience,  likewise, 
is  the  unnoticed  virtue  that,  nevertheless,  underlies  our 
highest  triumphs.  ,      r^     .  t^. 

Much  is  made  of  patience  in  the  Scriptures,  i  hey 
dwell  on  it  as  a  lovely  and  comforting  quality  of  God, 
"the  patience  and  longsuffering  of  God."  They  urge 
the  necessity  of  patience  upon  God's  children  if  they 
are  to  secure  the  rewards  of  faith,  obtain  salvation, 
and  attain  unto  perfection  and  completeness.  What 
they  so  strongly  urge  must  be  both  necessary  and 
precious.  .  , 

When  we  think  soberly  concerning  patience,  we  hnd 
it  both  great  and  salutary.  Patience  is  more  than 
love,  for  a  mother  that  loves  her  child  is  oft  impatient 
with  it.  Perhaps  we  may  more  truly  say  that  it  is  love  at 
its  highest,  thoughtful,  controlled  and  enduring.  "Pa- 
tience bears  human  weaknesses  with  a  loving  heart.  It 
involves  gentleness.  It  bears  wrongs  with  sweetness. 
It  will  neither  fret  nor  complain.  It  is  the  only  virtue 
that  will  carry  out  the  goodwill  of  the  heart." 

^^'e  must  not  think  that  patience  does  not  feel  keenly, 
for  it  is  not  insensible  to  drudgery,  worry,  vexation 
and  pain.  It  is  the  grace  that  transforms  drudgery, 
for  it  sees  that  drudgery  is  the  hard  road  to  perfection. 
It  is  the  grace  that  lightens  toil  with  the  trying,  for  it 
knows  that  wise  love  continued  may  gain  the  way- 
ward one  and  save  the  erring  one.    It  is  the  grace  that 

365 


366  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

irradiates  the  darkness  that  death  leaves  in  a  home, 
for  though  it  misses  "the  touch  of  the  vanished  hand 
and  the  sound  of  the  voice  that  is  still,"  yet  it  waits 
submissively  to  know  the  reason  why,  lifts  the  cross 
appointed  without  complaint,  and  persistently  trusts 
that  the  goodness  of  God  will  yet  be  shown. 

Patience  is  specially  needed  by  Christian  workers. 
The  best  results  everywhere  come  slowly.  The  painter, 
accused  by  a  friend  of  too  much  minute  care  and  labor 
in  his  work,  wisely  answered,  "Perfection  is  only  pos- 
sible to  him  who  is  patient."  Every  artist  knows  the 
almost  infinite  patience  required  to  reach  the  perfect 
result.  Untiring,  persistent  practice  is  essential  for 
the  control  of  the  voice  or  the  eye  or  the  hand.  Un- 
tiring patience  precedes  the  perfect  voice,  the  supple 
fingers,  the  delicate  or  sure  touch  of  the  musician,  the 
masterful  control  of  color  and  form  in  the  painter. 

The  patience  of  our  modern  scholars  is  almost  phe- 
nomenal. The  great  works  of  to-day  are  the  outcome 
of  widest  reading  and  research,  they  bristle  with  quo- 
tations from  authors  in  the  same  field,  evidences  of 
the  most  painstaking  labor.  The  subject  is  mastered 
before  the  attempt  to  write  is  made.  The  work  of  the 
scientific  discoverer  is  the  fruit  of  the  most  delicate 
investigations  in  the  laboratory  that  required  the  ut- 
most patience  before  the  discoveries  were  made,  such 
work  often  occupying  months  and  years  before  any- 
thing tangible  resulted. 

Those  who  teach  the  Scriptures  will  obtain  their 
clear  and  accurate  knowledge  through  patient  labor. 
To  know  the  Scriptures  well,  so  that  they  may  be  at 
one's  command,  requires  time  and  toil.  Those  who 
have  secured  command  over  willful  scholars  have 
found  patience  to  be  indispensable  in  dealing  with 
them.  Scholars  are  so  frequently  trying  and  trouble- 
some in  conduct  to  such  an  extent  that  patience  fails 
and  the  temptation  is  great  to  give  up  the  whole  work. 
In  such  hours  patience  must  be  fortified  by  prayer. 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  367 

Often  the  turning  point  in  their  characters  was  just  at 
hand  when  the  tried  teacher's  patience  gave  way. 
Patience,  above  all,  has  been  found  essential  in  soul- 
winning.  Many  are  over-anxious  about  results.  In- 
vitations to  Christ  are  given,  oft  without  judgment, 
without  reference  to  fitness  of  time  or  place.  When 
rejected,  patience  vanishes  and  no  further  effort  is 
made.  On  the  other  hand,  I  know^  of  one  who  has 
told  me  that  in  his  efforts  to  win  men,  he  has  oft  vis- 
ited them  and  kept  in  friendly  touch  with  them  for 
several  years  before  there  was  the  least  perceptible 
result,  and  then  at  length,  through  some  leading  of 
Providence  or  the  persistent  loving  interest,  those 
men  and  women  gave  themselves  to  Christ.  I-^t 
patience  have  her  perfect  w^ork  that  ye  may  be  per- 
fect and  entire  in  Christian  work. 

Patience  is  a  prime  requisite  in  spiritual  develop- 
ment. The  patience  of  God  is  written  in  all  the  world. 
Science  in  these  latter  days  has  opened  up  the  long 
ages  in  which  God  was  building  the  world,  as  though 
to  emphasize  for  us  in  this  feverish,  impatient  period 
that  the  beauty  and  goodness  of  this  world  can  only 
be  secured  by  patience  like  His.  "A  single  coal-seam 
six  inches  thick,"  says  one,  "contains  more  vegetable 
matter  than  a  thousand  years  could  possibly  grow. 
The  coal  period  alone  counts  up  among  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  years."    God  is  inimitably  patient. 

How  slowly  God  works  in  nature  to  give  tis  the 
beauty  of  the  flower  or  the  majesty  of  the  forest! 
Even  the  ripened  grain  was  "'first  the  blade,  then  the 
ear.  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  Ought  we 
then  to  be  surprised  that  the  spiritual  character  is  slow 
of  growth,  and  that  we  must  patienly  contend  until  it 
reveals  its  beauty  and  strength  to  us?  The  spiritual 
character  is  the  greatest  of  all  the  works  of  God  and 
man,  for  it  is  the  combined  work  of  both ;  through  His 
grace  man  achieves  godly  character.  It  is  but  in  line 
with  what  God  does  in  the  domains  of  the  seen,  that 


368  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

the  unseen  flower  of  character  should  require  patient 
watching  and  care,  long  continued,  ere  it  blooms  in 
rich  loveliness. 

Patience  comes  from  a  Latin  word  meaning  suffer- 
ing. The  derivation  throws  a  flood  of  light  upon  the 
quality  itself.  It  is  the  virtue  which  bears  suffering, 
and  learns  the  lessons  suffering  would  teach  man  by 
bearing  it  until  it  gives  place  to  perfection.  Christ 
was  made  perfect  through  suffering,  and  who  ever 
bore  suffering  as  patiently  as  He  did?  If  He  had 
grown  impatient  where  would  have  been  His  perfect 
character  or  our  salvation?  Let  patience  then  have 
her  perfect  work  with  us.  that  we  may  be  perfect  and 
entire,  wanting  nothing.  Let  patience  be  ours  in  work, 
in  the  development  of  spiritual  character,  even  in  the 
suffering  that  chisels  the  perfect  Christlikeness  on 
that  character. 

Patience  is  possible  to  those  that  rest  in  God.  They 
that  understand  His  love  and  believe  in  His  wisdom 
have  the  inward  sources  of  strength  that  issue  in 
patience.  They  know  that  "As  a  father  in  a  garden 
stoops  down  to  kiss  a  child  the  shadow  of  his  body 
falls  upon  it,  so  many  of  the  dark  misfortunes  of  our 
life  are  not  God  going  away  from  us,  but  our  heavenly 
Father  stooping  down  to  give  us  the  kiss  of  His  in- 
finite and  everlasting  love."  Patience  believes  in  God's 
love  and  holds  fast  to  it.  Patience  is  possible  to  him 
who  recalls  the  Lord  Jesus  and  seeks  to  reproduce  the 
life  that  was  patient  in  labor,  patient  in  duty,  patient 
in  suffering.  Living  with  Him  in  patience  he  possesses 
his  soul,  brings  forth  the  fruit  of  holy  life  in  patience, 
and  partakes  with  patience  of  Christ's  sufferings, 
knowing  that  when  His  glory  shall  be  revealed,  he  will 
be  glad  also  with  exceeding  joy. 


POSSIBILITIES 

The  career  of  Joseph  accentuates  the  truth  of  the 
possibiHties  that  are  potential  in  many,  which  need 
but  fitting  surroundings  and  discipUne  to  become  actu- 
ahties.  He  is  but  the  son  of  a  small  chieftain  in 
Canaan,  without  the  training  and  culture  of  the  courts 
of  mighty  empires,  or  of  their  schools  of  wisdom.  He 
rises  to  the  greatest  heights  of  power  and  influence, 
and  displays  such  wisdom,  judgment  and  prudence  as 
stamp  him  as  an  administrator  of  the  highest  order. 

Some,  who  are  all  too  slow  to  observe  the  many  simi- 
lar instances  of  history,  have  been  ready  in  their  dull- 
ness to  insinuate  that  we  have  a  romance  or  folk-talk  in 
the  history  of  Joseph.  They  have  forgotten  the  story 
of  men  like  Mohammed,  Luther,  Napoleon  and  Lin- 
coln, who,  though  of  ordinary  lineage  or  of  humble 
origin,  became  leaders  of  men  and  masters  of  empires. 

The  extraordinary  achievements  of  such  men  em- 
phasize the  possibilities  that  are  latent  in  men.  The 
human  mind  and  heart,  because  of  the  repressing  chill 
of  untoward  circumstances,  often  fails  to  bring  to 
flower  and  fruit  the  germs  of  the  life  that  are  within. 
Slothfulness  to  seize  proflfered  opportunities,  the  un- 
due cultivation  of  a  particular  side  of  the  nature, 
dwarfing  its  other  side,  the  paralysis  of  sin,  these  and 
like  causes  prevent  the  harmonious  unfolding  of  man's 
capabilities. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  Darwin  in  his  youthful 
days  was  fond  of  music  and  sensible  to  the  charm  of 
poesy.  In  his  old  age,  after  his  years  of  scientific  re- 
search, which  so  absorbed  him  that  he  gave  no  atten- 
tion to  these  arts,  he  found  his  soul  unresponsive  to 
music  and  poetry.  They  had  no  message  to  him,  they 
were  foolishness  to  him.  Failure  to  cultivate  the  facul- 
ties of  taste,  imagination  and  sensibility  in  these  direc- 

^*  369 


370  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

tions  had  so  deadened  this  faculty  that  there  was  no 
medium  between  his  soul  and  such  beauty. 

The  spiritual  nature  follows  the  same  law.  Every 
soul  has  great  capabilities  for  God  and  truth,  which 
God  seeks  to  unfold  by  the  truth  He  has  given,  and 
by  the  discipline  to  which  He  subjects  that  soul.  But 
when  the  soul  immerses  itself  in  material  things,  re- 
fuses to  cultivate  the  spiritual  through  the  exercise  of 
faith,  duty  done,  suffering  borne,  meditation  upon 
truth  and  prayer,  the  spiritual  nature  is  starved,  weak- 
ened, deadened.  The  natural,  or  earthy,  side  of  the 
man  triumphs  over  the  spiritual  until  Paul's  words  are 
fulfilled  :  "The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto 
him ;  neither  can  he  know  them,  for  they  are  spirit- 
ually discerned."  This  enables  us  to  understand  our 
Lord's  quotation  of  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah :  "By  hear- 
ing ye  shall  hear,  and  shall  not  understand ;  and  seeing 
ye  shall  see,  and  shall  not  perceive ;  for  this  people's 
heart  is  waxed  gross,  and  their  ears  are  dull  of  hear- 
ing, and  their  eyes  they  have  closed ;  lest  at  any  time 
they  should  see  with  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their 
ears,  and  should  understand  with  their  heart,  and 
should  be  converted,  and  I  should  heal  them." 

We,  therefore,  who  cultivate  the  spiritual  side  of 
our  nature,  who  live,  though  imperfectly,  with  God, 
should  not  be  surprised  when  that  which  we  hold 
precious  and  which  is  reality  to  us  should  make  no 
appeal  to  the  worldly  and  appear  to  them  to  be  un- 
substantial as  the  fabric  of  a  dream. 

Nevertheless,  we  need  not  be  hopeless  concerning 
them.  The  possibilities  for  spiritual  capacity  are  still 
there,  and  under  the  life-giving  touch  of  God's  Holy 
Spirit  may  become  responsive.  They  may  pass  from 
death  unto  life  and  be  born  anew. 

The  development  of  men  like  Joseph  furthermore 
indicates  to  us  what  we  may  possibly  be.  There  are 
within  us  undeveloped  possibilities  which  are  to  be- 


GENERAL    RELIGIOUS   THEMES  371 

come  magnihcent  realities,  partly  in  this  world,  per- 
fectly in  the  world  to  come.  John  assures  us  of  that 
in  his  glowing  words,  "Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons 
of  God.  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be; 
but  we  know  that,  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be 
like  Him."  Christ  will,  if  we  put  ourselves  into  His 
hands  here  and  diligently  do  our  duty,  guide  us  to  the 
unfolding  of  our  powers  of  mind  and  heart  and  spirit. 
Sometimes,  like  Joseph,  suffering  may  precede,  but 
sooner  or  later  there  will  be  the  crown  of  fulfillment 
and  the  fullness  of  our  faculties  perfected  and  real- 
ized. We  shall  be  great  in  the  true  sense — great  in 
mind  and  heart  and  spirit. 

It  is  the  Master's  hand  that  brings  forth  in  us  pow- 
ers which  we  have,  but  which  slumber  all  unknown, 
or  but  dimly  known  to  us.  Mr.  Louis  E.  Van  Norman, 
in  a  recent  number  of  The  Outlook,  says  that  the 
great  novelist,  Sienkiewicz,  thus  spoke  of  the  great 
pianist,  Padarewski,  "I  am  neither  an  orator  nor  a 
musician,  but  at  this  concert  I  have  made  a  surprising 
discovery:  I  am  not  a  musician,  but  I  am  very  musi- 
cal— like  an  instrument  with  all  the  necessary  strings 
and  keys,  which  awaits  only  the  artist's  touch  to 
wake  its  melody.  My  musicalness  waited  the  master's 
hand.  As  Paderewski  played  the  'Schumann  Con- 
certo.' I,  of  the  vulgiis  profanus.  felt  all  the  longings 
of  both  composer  and  virtuoso.  He  played  Chopin, 
and  to  me  it  seemed  that  the  music  spoke  to  my  soul, 
till,  in  the  words  of  the  poet,  'my  tears  flowed  fast 
and  clear.'  He  played  the  Polish  'Fantasie,'  and  im- 
mediately in  my  thoughts  there  was  a  marriage  be- 
tween the  sounds  that  flowed  from  the  artist's  fingers 
and  the  words  of  the  poet,  Pol : 

"  'And  do  you  not  see.  my  countrymen,  the  countenance  of 
your  native  land?* 

Someone  was  playing  on  my  soul  as  on  a  harp.  Pade- 
rewski has  forbidden  anyone  to  praise  him.     I  will 


372  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

not  praise  him  personally.  I  will  only  pray,  'Send  us 
more  like  him  who  can  ennoble  and  charm  the  heart 
of  my  country!'  " 

In  all  of  us  the  great  Master  is  seeking  to  bring  to 
actuality  our  possibilities.  There  are  heights  and 
depths  in  everyone  of  us,  in  the  meanest  as  well  as 
the  greatest,  which  are  inconceivable,  there  are  many 
chambers  of  treasures  of  mind  and  heart  and  spirit 
which  have  never  been  opened.  If  we  will  but 
let  the  Master  have  His  way  with  us  and  trust- 
fully learn  of  Him,  He  will  open  these  treasures;  He 
will  with  His  touch  waken  the  slumbering  melodies, 
and  we  shall  come  to  our  greatness ;  we  shall  be  like 
Him. 


DISCOURAGEMENTS 

All  workers  for  Christ  meet  with  many  discourage- 
ments. This  is  not  strange,  when  we  recall  that  dis- 
couragements come  to  those  who  work  even  in  mate- 
rial things,  if  their  ideals  are  high.  The  artist,  the 
musician,  the  singer,  the  architect,  the  business  man, 
the  housekeeper,  each  with  ideals,  fail  to  reach  their 
highest,  and,  therefore,  are  discouraged.  It  is  an  old 
and  trite  truth  that  we  know  full  well. 

But  when  we  turn  to  work  which  deals  with  the 
heart,  and  the  character,  another  spiritual  nature  and 
will,  the  discouragements  are  both  more  in  number 
and  greater.  Matter  is  more  plastic.  It  is  unresisting 
and  patiently  submits  to  our  hands  and  will.  The 
trouble  is  with  us  and  not  with  it,  if  we  cannot  make 
out  of  material  things  what  we  conceive.  The  great 
musician  uses  the  same  keys  and  the  same  instrument 
we  do,  but  how  great  the  difference.  The  reason  is 
not  in  the  piano,  irresponsive  and  obstinate,  but  in  us. 
clumsy  of  finger  and  stumbling  in  execution. 

When  we  turn  to  work  undertaken  with  the  human 
spirit,  we  meet  an  opposing  w^ill.  a  heart  dull  and  oft 
absorbed  in  worldliness.  perhaps  the  willing  captive  of 
evil  passion  and  desire.  There  are,  indeed,  those  who 
know  better  how  to  approach  others,  whose  words  are 
more  persuasive  and  searching,  whose  power  with 
God  greater,  because  their  living  with  Him  is  close 
and  their  love  great.  These,  however,  fail  also.  The 
lessons  we  have  been  studying  teach  this.  No  one 
knew  men  as  Jesus  knew  them.  No  one  could  present 
the  truth  so  skillfully  as  He  pre.sented  it.  No  one  had 
■such  power  with  God,  for  He  was  in  constant  fellow- 
ship with  the  Father;  nay,  more.  He  Himself  was  the 
I>ord.  But  how  often  He  failed.  Nazareth  rejected  Him. 
The  Jewish  leaders  had  no  ear  for  His  message  and 

373 


374  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

slandered  Him.  At  last  they  turned  against  Him  and 
were  able  to  change  the  popular  feeling  favorable  to 
Jesus,  so  that  the  multitudes  cried,  "Crucify  Him, 
crucify  Him." 

Just  as  remarkable  is  the  slowness  with  which  the 
disciples  themselves  understood  His  teachings.  They 
were  slow  to  understand.  In  the  storm  on  the  Lake 
of  Galilee  He  rebukes  them  in  their  uncalled-for  ter- 
ror with  the  words,  "O  ye  of  little  faith."  They  were 
full  of  petty  jealousy,  sought  earthly  reward  and  not 
service.  At  the  last  they  all  forsook  Him  and  fled.  If 
anyone  had  reason  to  be  discouraged  it  was  Jesus. 

All  this  is  a  striking  testimony  to  the  power  of  the 
human  heart  to  reject  the  truth  and  a  lesson  to  us  that 
we  must  never  forget  that  much  as  we  may  do  to  make 
the  truth  clear  and  precious  to  others,  yet  that  the  truth 
must  be  individually  appropriated.  In  the  last  issue, 
everyone  must  decide  the  question  of  faith  and  life 
in  Christ  for  Himself. 

With  it  all,  Jesus  was  not  discouraged.  He  was 
grieved  that  men  chose  to  reject  Him,  but,  "He  saw 
of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and  was  satisfied."  He 
saw  that  He  was  gathering  His  chosen  and  that  there 
would  be  a  host  of  the  redeemed  that  no  man  could 
number.    He  knew  His  work  was  not  in  vain. 

If  there  be  anything  that  should  make  us  rise  above 
discouragements,  it  is  just  this — our  work  is  not  in 
vain,  the  honest,  humble,  faithful  work  we  do.  We 
need  but  patiently  wait.  Those  to  whom  we  minister 
are  not  fond  of  talking  about  themselves.  Rare  mo- 
ments of  confidence  come  which  reveal  this.  A  super- 
intendent lately,  asking  one  of  his  old  teachers  to  again 
take  her  class,  received  in  answer  a  letter  stating  that, 
as  she  was  about  to  be  married  and  leave  the  city,  she 
could  not.  Then  followed  a  most  glowing  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  power  his  words  in  the  Sunday  school 
had  exercised  in  building  up  her  Christian  life.  Had 
it  not  been  for  this,  this  Christ-loving  Superintendent 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  375 

would  never  have  known  how  his  consistent  life  and 
sincere  words  had  influenced  this  brilliantly  intellectual 
and  educated  woman. 

Jesus,  too,  bore  patiently  with  these  (shall  we  say?) 
stupid  disciples,  because  He  knew  what  they  would 
become.  He  saw  the  nobility  of  character,  the  grand- 
eur of  faith,  the  greatness  of  the  work  which  these 
men  and  women  would  do.  What  names  they  have 
left!  Peter,  James,  John  and  the  other  apostles,  the 
Marys  and  the  other  women !  Like  Jesus,  we  should 
hope.  Who  can  tell  the  beauty  that  shall  be  in  those 
we  teach,  in  this  life  and  in  the  life  to  come? 

Let  us  take  long  looks  ahead  when  we  are  discour- 
aged. There  is  a  charming  story  told  of  Bishop  Nich- 
olson when  he  was  rector,  in  the  first  years  of  his 
ministry,  of  a  Philadelphia  church. 

The  parish  matters,  social  and  financial,  were  in  a 
bad  way,  and  straightening  them  out  was  slow  work. 
He  was  distinctly  discouraged  one  day  when,  having 
gone  to  New  York  on  business,  he  stopped  to  look  at 
the  Brooklyn  Bridge,  then  building.  A  man,  covered 
with  dirt,  was  working  on  the  abutments. 

''That 's  pretty  dirty  work  you  are  engaged  in,"  said 
the  bishop. 

"Well,  yes,"  answered  the  laborer,  "but  somehow 
we  don't  think  of  the  dirt,  but  of  the  beauty  which  is 
to  come  out  of  our  work." 

"It  was  the  lesson  I  needed,  and  I  went  back  to 
Philadelphia  the  better  for  it,"  said  Bishop  Nicholson. 

We,  too,  are  doing  foundation  work,  and  find  much 
that  is  disagreeable.  There  is  more  dirt  than  beauty. 
We  need  to  look  far  ahead  and  see  in  the  future  days 
on  these  foundations  the  beautiful  structure  of  a  noble 
and  Christlike  life,  and,  because  of  the  joy  to  come, 
forget  the  worries  and  discouragements  of  our  present 
work. 


COMFORT  IN  CHRIST'S  KNOWLEDGE  OF  US 

The  more  we  study  Jesus  Christ,  the  more  we  are 
amazed  at  His  knowledge  of  men.  To  Him  every 
man  He  met  was  an  open  book.  He  read  him  easily 
and  accurately.  Men  could  not  conceal  themselves 
from  Him.  The  most  impenetrable  mask  a  man  as- 
sumed was  no  barrier  to  His  sight.  He  penetrated  it 
without  effort  and  saw  the  man  behind  the  mask.  His 
knowledge  was  even  more  surprising  in  this,  He  knew 
the  motives  which  ruled  men,  motives  of  which  even 
they  themselves  were  unconscious. 

As  we  read  the  last  pages  of  the  Gospels,  we  learn 
that  the  crafty  Judas  did  not  deceive  Him ;  that  Peter's 
cowardice  was  so  open  to  Him  that  He  could  foretell 
to  him  his  base  denial.  Annas,  Caiaphas,  Pilate  and 
Herod,  rulers  and  king,  are  weighed  in  His  balances 
and  estimated  at  their  correct  value. 

He  knew  what  was  in  man.  His  glance  was  like 
light  falling  into  a  dark  place,  revealing  whatever  of 
beauty  or  of  ugliness,  of  purity  or  of  filth  is  there.  He 
continually  startled  his  adversaries  by  telling  to  them 
their  secret  thoughts.  He  just  as  truly  amazed  the 
faithful  and  righteous  by  His  knowledge  of  their  do- 
ings and  desires.  He  astonished  Nathaniel  as  much 
as  He  did  Simon  the  Pharisee. 

In  one  way  it  is  not  very  comfortable  to  meet  one 
who  is  so  familiar  with  the  hidden  things  of  our  heart 
that,  if  he  would,  he  could  tell  the  world  about  us, 
our  inner  self.  There  are  things  we  conceal  even 
from  our  dearest,  and  seek  to  blind  ourselves  to  their 
reality.  Who  of  us  would  dare  to  face  a  man  who 
knew  our  impurities,  passions  and  secret  sins? 

After  all,  it  is  a  truth  that  we  ought  to  face,  for  it  will 
help  us  when  tempted  to  do  wrong.  "All  things  are 
naked  and  opened  unto  the  eyes  of  Him  with  whom 

376 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  377 

we  have  to  do."  Opened  is  a  strong  word.  The  one 
who  has  been  caught  in  a  shameful  deed  drops  his 
head  to  hide  his  eyes.  This  word  signifies  the  head 
raised  up  that  the  eyes  must  face  the  stern  look  of 
the  judge.  Men  cannot  hide  from  His  eyes,  the  eyes 
of  Him  who  not  only  sees  but  must  act  against  evil, 
for  with  Him  we  have  to  do.  The  sun  sees,  and  his 
light  on  the  sensitive  plate  records  the  face  and  deed, 
but  acts  not  either  for  or  against.  His  eyes  see,  but 
He  also  must  act  as  our  Ruler  and  Judge,  punishing 
or  rewarding  as  the  case  may  be. 

But  as  we  think  deeper  there  is  wonderful  comfort 
in  His  knowledge  of  us.  He  knew  men  thoroughly. 
Knowing  them  as  He  did.  He  was  ready  to  live  and 
die  for  them.  We  value  things  by  the  price  paid  for 
them.  Jewels  are  prized  more  than  stones.  Jesus 
measures  the  worth  of  man  by  the  price  He  paid  for 
men's  salvation.  Their  redemption  satisfies  Him  for 
all  the  travail  of  His  soul  under  the  sufferings  of  the 
cross.  He  said  once  that  a  man's  soul  was  worth 
more  than  the  world.  He  says  by  the  cross  in  another 
way  what  a  man's  soul  is  worth.  What  hope  lies  be- 
fore us!  What  comfort  that  He  values  us  at  so  high 
a  price!  His  parables  of  the  lost  sheep,  the  lost  coin, 
the  lost  son  were  all  intended  to  show  how  He  values 
us,  even  when  in  sin. 

And  it  follows  irresistibly  that  what  He  paid  so 
great  a  price  for  He  will  not  willingly  let  go.  He 
is  deeply  interested  in  all  our  struggles  to  be  true  and 
faithful.  He  will  stand  by  us,  provide  a  way  of  escape 
in  temptation,  strengthen  us.    He  will  never  fail  us. 

Once  again,  there  is  unspeakable  comfort  in  the 
thought  that  He  knows  just  what  our  service  means. 
Our  service  is  so  far  from  being  what  we  would  like 
it  to  be.  The  earthly  and  the  heavenly  are  inter- 
mingled. There  is  so  much  of  imperfection.  When 
we  have  done  our  best,  it  all  seems  so  poor  and  unsat- 
isfactory. 


378  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

He  judges  us  not  by  what  we  have  accomplished, 
but  by  the  tendency  and  the  hfe.  The  Httle  toddler 
brings  to  us  a  piece  of  paper  all  scribbled  with  un- 
meaning lines,  a  letter  to  father  or  mother.  But  the 
wise  parent  sees  the  message  of  love  and  covers  with 
kisses  the  little  face.  The  life  that  was  behind  it  and 
not  the  performance  is  known  and  praised. 

Peter  is  boastful,  a  coward,  a  base  denier,  but,  when 
he  comes  to  himself.  Jesus  knows  his  love  and  faith 
were  obscured  for  a  moment,  and  forgives  and  accepts. 
What  is  an  alabaster  box  of  ointment  to  Him,  the  King 
of  kings?  but  He  rejoices  and  says  that  wherever  His 
gospel  is  preached  this  also  that  she  hath  done  shall 
be  spoken  of  as  a  memorial  unto  her. 

Be  of  good  heart.  He  estimates  our  imperfect  service 
by  the  desire  back  of  it,  and  counts  the  broken  pillar 
of  our  deed  as  the  perfect  shaft. 


RIGHTEOUS  LIVING,  THE  CRYING  NEED 
OF  OUR  DAY 

There  is  to-day  a  revival  of  righteousness  in  our 
country.  The  demand  is  made  that  men  shall  carry 
into  politics,  into  the  management  of  corporations  and 
into  business  honesty  and  fair  dealing.  The  revela- 
tions of  corruption  in  politics  and  business  have  as- 
tounded everybody.  A  new  word,  "graft,"  has  been 
coined  to  express  the  disgraceful  and  dishonest  con- 
duct of  men  who  prey  upon  others  and  deliberately 
rob  those  who  have  trusted  them. 

The  high-handed  outrages  of  gigantic  business  enter- 
prises, which  are  in  the  possession  of  millions,  have 
amazed  the  people.  These  corporations  have  remorse- 
lessly adopted  the  policy  of  commercial  assassination 
and  have  killed  honest  competitors  by  foul  means,  col- 
lusions with  railroads,  shrewd  use  of  law,  manipula- 
tions of  prices  and  stocks.  No  rival  has  been  too  in- 
significant. "The  keeper  of  the  little  corner  grocery 
and  even  the  street  peddler  are  as  calmly  and  quickly 
crushed  out  of  existence  as  the  great  rival  concerns." 
To  gain  their  ends  justice  has  been  outraged,  law 
evaded  and  broken  and  perjury  committed. 

Strange  to  say,  many  of  these  men  in  private  life  are 
moral.  They  are  kind  neighbors,  faithful  husbands 
and  good  fathers.  They  are  large  and  generous  con- 
tributors to  colleges,  hospitals ;  they  found  libraries 
and  are  charitable  to  the  poor.  They  are  religious  in 
the  sense  that  they  go  to  church.  Some  teach  in  the 
Sunday  school  and  make  fervent  prayers.  They  give 
largely  to  the  church  which  they  attend  and  to  the 
enterprises  of  the  church.  In  private  life  they  are  re- 
spected and  honored.  In  business  and  political  life 
they  do  not  at  all  conform  to  the  standards  of  Chris- 

379 


380  LIFE  AND  Vv^ORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

tian  righteousness;  they  are  not  merciful  nor  loving. 

The  explanation  is  found  in  defective  conscience. 
They  have  one  standard  for  private  life  and  another 
for  business  life.  They  declare  that  the  moral  and 
religious  teaching  of  Christ  cannot  be  applied  either 
to  business  or  politics.  Until  of  late,  this  has  also 
been  the  public  conscience ;  but  a  large  portion  of  the 
public  is  awakening  to  the  fact  that  not  only  is  this 
false,  but,  if  persisted  in,  this  country  is  doomed  to 
revolution  and  its  streets  to  run  red  with  blood  as  they 
do  in  Russia  to-day,  where  long-continued  disregard  of 
justice  to  men  is  bringing  forth  its  legitimate  results. 

If,  however,  a  closer  investigation  is  made,  it  will 
be  found  that  the  same  spirit  pervades  the  community. 
It  is  astonishing  to  find  how  many  business  men  of 
small  capital  believe  that  no  business  can  be  carried 
on  with  success  that  is  honest.  There  must  be  decep- 
tions, tricky  advertising,  disregard  of  others'  rights 
and  the  like,  if  success  is  to  be  obtained.  The  principle 
ruling  among  them  is  precisely  the  same  as  in  the  great 
corporations. 

Moreover,  there  is  wanting  respect  for  and  obe- 
dience to  law  throughout  the  whole  country.  "For  ex- 
ample," writes  one,  "the  country  is  now  aroused  by  the 
impudence  of  the  public  service  corporations,  which 
have  set  themselves  above  the  law ;  yet  the  man  who 
encourages  the  saloonkeeper  to  break  the  law,  that  he 
may  get  a  Sunday  drink,  because  local  sentiment  re- 
gards it  as  a  foolish  law,  must  remember  that  local 
sentiment  in  Wall  Street  regards  the  law  which  high 
finance  is  breaking  as  a  'crank'  law ;  and  if  the  saloon- 
keeper breaks  the  law  that  checks  him.  the  broker  and 
the  corporation  director  will  disregard  the  law  that 
would  check  them."  To  take  a  common  illustration, 
how  many  try  to  evade  the  regulations  of  railroads 
with  regard  to  passes  and  mileage  books,  though  these 
be  signed  contracts,  and  transfer  them  to  others.  Both 
law  and  solemn  pledge  are  violated.    Disregard  of  law 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  381 

in  the  community,  and  among  those  who  claim  to  be 
Christians,  thus  prepares  the  way  for  the  large  in- 
fractions of  law. 

What  will  prove  helpful  in  the  struggle  for  right- 
eousness in  conduct  will  be  the  study  of  Jesus  Christ. 
He  cannot  be  thought  of.  for  one  moment,  as  disre- 
garding the  law  or  unmindful  of  the  rights  of  others. 
At  His  baptism  by  John.  He  silences  John's  remon- 
strances with  the  word,  "Thus  it  becometh  us  to  ful- 
fill all  righteousness."  He  did  not  need  to  be  bap- 
tized. He  had  no  sin.  But  this  was  God's  appoint- 
ment. This  was  His  to  do,  and  He  did  it.  His 
scrupulous  regard  of  God's  law  and  man's  law  ran 
through  all  His  life  and  all  His  teaching.  He  never 
counseled  His  followers  to  evade  or  break  a  law. 

We  cannot  think  of  Him  as  having  one  law  for  His 
private  life  and  another  for  a  life  of  business.  His 
conduct,  we  know,  would  have  been  the  same  in  both. 
He  would  have  been  found  merciful,  just,  loving  in 
all  His  dealings.  He  would  have  trusted  and  loved 
God  in  all  the  completeness  of  life  and  in  every  par- 
ticular thereof.  The  devil  could  not  tempt  Him  to  fall 
down  and  worship  him  for  all  the  kingdoms  and  glory 
of  the  world.  In  His  public  life,  as  well  as  in  His 
private  life,  there  was  but  one  principle,  "Thou  shalt 
worship  God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve." 

What  we  need,  therefore,  in  these  lessons  that  we 
are  to  study  is  to  grasp  these  teachings  and  these  prin- 
ciples of  Christ,  first  for  ourselves  and  then  for  our 
scholars;  to  press  home  not  only  a  vague  faith,  but  a 
faith  that  makes  righteous ;  a  faith  that  permeates 
every  portion  of  our  life,  that  willingly  obeys  the  law 
and  keeps  it ;  a  faith  that  sees  that  we  are  to  be  like 
Christ  Jesus  in  mercy,  love,  truth  and  righteous  deal- 
ing; a  faith  that  prevails  because  it  rests  upon  God  and 
draws  its  strength  to  resist  and  its  power  to  do  right- 
eously from  Him.  These  truths  enforced  will  be  as 
good  seed  in  the  hearts  of  scholars  and  will  bring  forth, 


382 


LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF   CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 


in  the  coming  generation  of  workers,  toilers,  business 
men  and  rulers,  fruit,  honor,  integrity,  fair  dealing, 
mercy,  righteousness  in  public  and  business  life  as 
well  as  in  private  life. 


BLESSINGS  IN  DISGUISE 

Some  blessings  we  know  as  soon  as  they  come  to  us, 
health,  sunshine,  food  and  the  like.  There  are  others 
which,  perhaps,  disclose  themselves  as  blessings  only 
after  years.  They  were  blessings  in  disguise,  which 
ofttimes  are  the  best  and  the  richest  of  all. 

I  sat  the  other  day  with  some  friends,  talking  about 
one  of  the  household  who  had  been  a  cripple  from 
spinal  disease.  He  had  possessed  a  mind  of  rare  order, 
the  faculty  of  close  observation,  accurate  knowledge  of 
flowers  and  plants.  He  would  have  made  his  mark 
as  a  botanist  had  he  possessed  the  bodily  vigor,  perhaps 
would  have  become  a  Burbank.  He  was  often  racked 
with  pain,  but  his  was  the  soldierly  spirit  that  battled 
to  be  cheerful  and  uncomplaining.  His  smile  was  ever 
sweet,  the  sweetness  so  pathetic  because  back  of  it 
w-as  pain  conquered.  He  lived,  it  need  not  be  said, 
close  to  God.  He  bore  his  cross,  following  the  Master, 
not  understanding  why  it  was  given  him  to  bear,  but 
seeking  to  bend  his  will  to  the  Father's. 

The  household  centered  around  him.  When  he  was 
confined  to  his  bed.  as  he  was  at  intervals,  they  clus- 
tered around  it  with  ready  and  untiring  sympathy, 
meeting  his  courage  and  cheerfulness  with  brightness 
and  buoyant  spirits.  When  he  died,  in  young  man- 
hood, the  sorrow  was  deep. 

As  we  talked  with  his  father  and  sister  we  agreed 
that  their  home  life,  which  was  exceptional  in  tender 
love  and  happiness,  largely  arose  from  the  demand 
thus  made  upon  their  thoughtfulness  and  sympathy, 
and  from  the  sight  of  the  cheerful  courage  of  the  suf- 
ferer. Selfishness  had  little  chance  for  growth  under 
such  conditions.  No  one  could  go  his  own  way  un- 
mindful of  the  home-circle,  when  they  were  called 
upon  to  center  around  a  noble  son  and  brother,  whose 

383 


384  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

fine  intellect  and  beautiful  spirit  challenged  their  best 
thought  and  daily  showed  them  the  divine  possibili- 
ties of  the  soul.  The  physical  misfortune  became  a 
blessing  in  disguise. 

There  are  many  teachings  in  the  word  of  God  to 
the  end  that  our  deepest  blessings  are  generally  those 
which  come  to  us  in  hardship,  pain  and  disappoint- 
ment. We  cannot  grow  oaks  under  glass.  The  sturdy 
trunk,  the  strong  branches,  the  oak-fiber  are  the  prod- 
uct of  storms  met  and  conquered,  storms  which  gave 
it  toughness  and  forced  it  to  send  deep  the  roots 
which  sustained  the  wide-spreading  tree  of  branch  and 
leaf.  The  great  nations  were  all  the  offspring  of 
hardship  encountered  and  borne.  Great  men  have 
been  reared  amid  privations,  or  chosen  hardness  for 
themselves.  The  great  saints  were  nurtured  in  afflic- 
tion and  tribulation.  Run  down  the  great  ones  of  the 
Bible  and  find  one,  if  you  can,  who  did  not  walk  in 
dangers  and  difficulties,  which  endured,  made  them 
strong  in  spirit  and  great  in  faith.  Nor  have  their 
successors  in  the  ages  since  been  different.  Labor  and 
trial  have  been  inseparable  companions  to  the  best. 

In  this  Lenten  season,  Jesus  beautifully  teaches  this 
to  us.  In  those  last  discourses  to  His  disciples,  when 
He  speaks  of  His  departure,  and  the  disciples  are  sad, 
He  says,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  shall 
weep  and  lament,  but  the  world  shall  rejoice;  and  ye 
shall  be  sorrowful,  but  your  sorrow  shall  be  turned 
into  joy."  The  way  to  the  higher  joy  was  through 
the  way  of  sorrow. 

Sometimes  we  come  dangerously  near  to  rebellion 
when  the  Lord  appoints  to  us  a  cross  that  bears  heav- 
ily. We  fiercely  question  why  He  treats  us  thus.  I 
have  known  Christians  to  lose  their  faith  in  His  good- 
ness, and  cry,  "He  is  not  God  or  He  would  not  treat 
me  like  this."  The  mother  that  buries  her  child,  the 
wife  her  husband,  those  that  lose  their  wealth  or  are 
treated  unjustly,  are  among  these. 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  385 

Let  US  note  first  that  Jesus  Himself  bore  a  weightier 
cross,  and  asks  no  more  of  us  than  He  was  wiUing  to 
bear  Himself.  Let  us  also  note,  secondly,  that  His 
cross  to  the  disciples  was  mysterious,  terrible,  the 
source  of  despairing  grief,  but  it  was  a  blessing  in 
disguise.  When  they  knew  the  reason  afterward,  it 
became  their  deepest  joy  and  their  salvation. 

When,  therefore,  there  comes  to  us  the  sorrows  that 
are  hard  to  bear,  hard  to  understand,  that  pierce  our 
souls  and  test  our  faith,  let  us  hold  fast  to  these  two 
things :  First,  that  Christ  bore  a  more  painful  cross 
than  that  which  he  asks  of  us.  Then  let  us  recall 
again  that,  after  awhile,  out  of  the  cross-bearing  will 
come  exceeding  goodness  to  ourselves  and  to  those 
about  us.  The  end  of  the  steep,  stony  path  is  the 
blessedness  of  the  vision  of  heaven. 

My  young  friend  plucked  out  of  his  pain  and  broken 
body  the  deepest  joy  and  nobility  of  soul,  and  made 
the  pain  a  throne  of  precious  influence  to  all  in  his 
home.  When  we  hold  fast  in  faith  to  the  promise 
that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  those  who 
love  God,  we  shall  ever  discover  trials  and  crosses  to 
be  blessings  in  disguise. 


A  REVIVAL  OF  INTEREST 

There  is  to-day  a  great  revival  of  interest  in  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures.  They  are  being  read  and  stud- 
ied by  an  increasing  number  of  men  and  women,  boys 
and  girls.     The  reasons  are  varied. 

Some  are  studying  them  for  critical  purposes.  They 
want  to  know  how  this  wonderful  Old  Testament  came 
to  be,  and  never  weary  in  labors  over  language,  author- 
ship and  the  like.  Whilst  they  are  giving  us  many 
strange  and  unproved  theories,  they  are  also  bringing 
a  vast  amount  of  information  which  helps  to  make  the 
book  real  and  living.  The  Old  Testament  is  to-day 
read  with  a  knowledge  of  the  customs,  surroundings, 
national  characteristics,  modes  of  thought  of  those 
times,  as  never  before  in  the  history  of  the  Church. 
It  gives  it  a  reality,  a  human  side,  a  freshness  which 
had  largely  been  lost  with  many. 

When  we  read  the  story  of  the  kings  before  Abra- 
ham and  of  his  day,  which  the  researches  among  the 
ruins  of  Babylonia  have  brough  to  light,  Abraham  be- 
comes much  more  real.  We  see  how  they  lived,  how 
they  fought,  how  they  worshiped,  how  they  thought 
in  those  days.  They  could  write,  they  had  books,  laws 
and  civilization. 

The  discovery  of  the  laws  of  Hammurabi,  long  be- 
fore Moses'  day,  teach  us  that  the  laws  of  Moses  were 
not  something  new  and  unheard  of,  but  the  heritage  of 
the  Hebrew  people,  and  that  on  a  natural  basis,  just 
as  God  does  to-day,  God  built  up  the  laws  of  the  Israel- 
ites, putting  into  their  old  laws  a  new  spirit,  adding  the 
larger  law  and  dropping  the  old  errors.  There  was 
and  is  inspiration,  it  is  the  word  of  Jehovah,  but  the 
word  came  by  way  of  what  had  been  learned.  The 
new  had  its  roots  in  the  past. 

386 


GENERAL  RELIGIOUS  THEMES  387 

Then  there  are  otliers  who  read  the  Bible  as  Htera- 
ture.  They  have  found  it  a  most  wonderful  book,  the 
book  of  all  the  world,  even  as  literature.  Within  its 
pages  are  all  the  varieties  of  literature — the  story,  the 
song,  the  poem,  the  narrative,  the  oration,  the  proverb, 
the  essay,  the  drama.  "There  is  more  'good  reading' 
in  the  Bible,"  says  one,  "than  in  all  the  volumes  of 
fiction,  poetry  and  philosophy  put  together.  So  when 
T  get  tired  of  everything  else  and  want  something 
really  'good  to  read,'  something  that  is  charged  full  of 
energ>'  and  human  emotion,  of  cunning  thought  and 
everything  that  arrests  the  attention  and  thrills  or 
soothes  or  uplifts  you,  according  to  vour  mood,  I  find  it 
in  the  Bible." 

No  man  is  truly  educated  who  is  ignorant  of  the 
Bible  as  literature.  The  men  who  have  been  our  great- 
est in  letters  or  oratory  or  statesmanship,  have  been 
those  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  Bible.  It  has  taught 
them  how  to  think,  write  and  speak.  It  is  a  good  thing 
to  read  the  Bible  as  literature,  for,  as  it  is  read,  its 
deep  undertone  is  bound  to  be  heard,  namely,  the  truth 
about  God  and  about  man,  God's  sinning  child,  and 
the  way  by  which  he  can  come  back  to  God.  Men 
start  out  to  read  the  Bible  as  a  "human  document," 
for  its  poetry,  its  laws,  its  oratory,  its  letters,  and  find 
what  all  these  combine  to  tell,  religion,  and  must  de- 
cide for  or  against  it. 

Perhaps  one  reason  we  fail  to  get  the  beauty  and 
fascination  of  the  Bible  is  due  to  the  miserable  way 
we  read  or  stud}^  it.  How  many  have  ever  read  the 
whole  story  of  Abraham  or  Jacob  or  Joseph,  or  of 
others  at  one  sitting?  I  handed  a  young  fellow  a  book- 
let with  the  story  of  Abraham,  without  chapters  and 
verses,  under  suitable  headings,  and  told  him  to  read 
it,  remarking  it  was  one  of  the  finest  stories  I  knew. 
The  young  fellow  read  it  with  intense  interest,  and 
knows  now  more  about  Abraham  than  many  a  church 
member.    As  soon  as  he  had  finished  one  of  his  class- 


388  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.   ALBERT 

mates  eagerly  asked  for  it,  and  it  is  to  go  the  round  of 
the  whole  class. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  story  of  Joseph,  one  of  the 
most  fascinating  stories  in  all  literature.  How  many 
have  ever  read  it  through  at  one  sitting?  And 
have  you  ever  tried,  after  reading  it,  to  picture  it  in 
its  fullness?  The  Bible  condenses.  With  few  words 
it  paints  a  scene,  portrays  an  emotion,  describes  a 
situation.  And  it  must  be  pondered  over  to  get  it  all, 
just  as  you  must  look  again  at  a  great  painting  to  win 
its  beauty  for  yourself. 

Then  a  great  many  of  us  are  trying,  besides  all  this, 
to  get  at  the  real  heart  of  all  that  is  written  in  the  Old 
Testament.  It  is  God's  book  to  us.  We  cannot  forget 
that  it  was  Christ's  Bible.  We  want  to  learn  what 
message  there  is  from  God  to  us  in  what  it  says.  We 
are  anxious  to  get  it  not  only  for  ourselves,  but  for 
those  whom  we  teach.  And  as  we  come,  praying  for 
wisdom,  we  find  that  its  lessons  are  eternal.  We  can 
never  get  past  the  faith  of  Abraham.  It  has  the  same 
quality  that  our  faith  has.  He  believes,  and  it  is 
counted  to  him  for  righteousness.  We  have  larger 
knowledge.  Our  object  of  faith  is  Jesus,  who  is  our 
Saviour  and  Lord,  but  when  we  trust  God  in  Him  and 
God  justifies  us,  the  quality  of  faith  is  the  same — con- 
fidingly taking  Him  at  His  word.  Joseph,  patient,  en- 
during, seeking  the  best,  lived  for  God,  as  we  do  when 
we  steadily  trust  in  Providence  and  follow  noblest 
ideals. 

It  is  true  that  we  now  interpret  the  Old  Testament 
by  the  New,  but  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  the  New 
Testament  is  concealed  in  the  Old.  Both  are  from  the 
One  God,  and  both  were  written  for  our  instruction 
that  we,  through  patience  and  comfort  of  the  Script- 
ures, might  have  hope. 


"I  GO  TO  PREPARE  A  PLACE  FOR  YOU" 

The  night  before  Christ  died.  ?le  told  His  disciples 
that  He  was  going  to  leave  them.  They  were  much 
cast  down.  How  would  they  get  along  without  Him, 
their  Teacher,  Leader,  Defender.  Friend?  And  then 
He  comforted  them  by  telling  them  that  He  was  go- 
ing to  the  Father's  home  of  many  mansions  above,  and 
that  He  was  going  to  prepare  a  place  there  for  them, 
and  that  after  He  had  prepared  it  He  would  come 
again  and  receive  them  to  Himself,  that  where  He  is 
there  they  may  be  also. 

Ever  since  these  words  of  Christ  have  been  of 
wonderful  comfort  to  men  and  women,  the  old  and  the 
young.  For  it  is  certain  that  we  must  all  die,  and  that 
death  may  come  to  young  as  well  as  to  old.  Death  is 
certain,  the  time  alone  of  our  death  is  uncertain.  We 
may  live  long,  we  may  die  to-morrow.  In  the  presence 
of  this  inevitable  death  we  need  comfort. 

As  we  turn  to  these  words  of  Jesus  we  find  a  com- 
fort so  singular  that  in  all  the  world  of  the  past  and 
the  present  there  is  nothing  like  to  them.  He  goes 
before.  The  way  is  no  longer  a  lonely  way.  He  has 
tasted  death  for  every  man.  and  He  allows  no  one  to 
go  through  the  dark  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death 
without  His  loving  and  gracious  presence  and  sympa- 
thy, the  sympathy  of  One  who  has  known  death,  the 
presence  of  One  who,  overcoming  the  sharpness  of 
death,  has  made  death  His  angel  to  lead  us  home. 
And  so  it  happens  that  when  the  awful  veiled  face 
of  death  draws  near  to  Christ's  own,  they  look  in- 
tently, the  veil  lifts  and  they  see  the  face  to  be  that  of 
the  Lord's  messenger,  full  of  mercy  and  deathless  joy. 
The  Lord  of  life  is  with  us  to  give  us  courage  to  look 
and  triumph.  Well,  therefore,  does  Jesus  say,  'T  will 
come  again  and  receive  you  unto  myself." 

389 


390  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

If  there  were  space,  we  would  like  to  show  how 
those  words  about  my  Father's  home  of  many  man- 
sions have  changed  the  world  beyond.  Men  had  talked 
of  it  as  the  land  of  shades,  and  some  had  made  it 
another  world  like  this,  but  Jesus  lighted  it  up  with  un- 
failing and  lasting  light  as  a  home,  a  home  where  God 
is  the  Father,  a  Father  whom  we  know,  for  we  have 
seen  Him  in  the  beauty,  goodness,  compasssion,  truth 
and  love  of  Christ — "He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen 
the  Father."  When  the  believer  dies,  he  goes  home 
to  his  heavenly  Father,  to  the  home  where  sin,  tears, 
pain,  sorrow,  crying,  death,  are  unknown. 

I  know  that  it  is  not  so  clear  as  that  to  us.  Death 
lies  like  a  mist  before  it.  One  beats  into  a  harbor 
in  a  fog.  The  eye  cannot  penetrate  it.  The  city  of 
which  we  have  been  told  lies  hidden,  and  then  the  fog 
lifts,  the  sun  shines,  and  the  city  with  its  glory  lies 
enchanting  before  the  wayfarer  after  the  long  and 
stormy  voyage.  So,  after  life's  voyage,  we  come  into 
the  mist  of  death,  but  it  lifts  as  we  enter,  and  in  the 
light  of  glory  we  see  the  city  of  our  God,  the  New 
Jerusalem,  the  home  of  our  Father. 

One  thing  makes  it  certain,  all  will  be  done  for  us 
that  love  can  do.  We  measure  that  love  by  what  Jesus 
did  that  the  way  there  might  be  possible  to  us  sinners. 
When  He  found  it  meant  His  taking  our  flesh,  living 
a  life  where  men  hurt  Him  at  every  turn,  and  put  Him 
to  early  and  cruel  death,  His  love  never  shrank.  W1iat 
it  meant  to  bear  our  guilt  who  may  understand?  But 
His  love  was  great  enough  to  take  the  sinner's  place 
and  be  made  sin  for  us. 

He  says,  "I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you."  He,  the 
stipreme  love,  will  not  only  fit  us  for  that  home,  but 
also  make  that  home  incomparable. 

Some  years  ago,  in  the  city  of  Boston,  a  beautiful 
young  girl  lay  dying.  For  a  long  time  she  refused  to 
see  her  rector,  who  was  Dr.  Donald,  of  Trinity 
Church ;  but  at  last  she  sent  for  him,  and  he  gladly 


GENEILVL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  391 

came.  The  Youth's  Companion  tells  the  story.  *'Dr 
Donald,"  said  the  dying  girl,  "I  am  horribly  afraid  to 
die!  What  shall  I  do?  I  went  to  Sunday  school,  and 
I  was  conhrmed,  and  1  've  always  been  to  church, 
and  I  supposed  I  had  done  about  all  I  could  do ;  but 
now  I  know  that  I  have  done  nothing!  I  am  just 
being  thrust  out  of  my  happy  life  here  into  the 
dark.  I  can't  see  anything!  I  can't  believe  any- 
thing! What  shall  I  do?  What  shall  I  do?"  The 
rector's  grave,  strong  face  grew  very  tender  as  he 
looked  at  her.  He  thought  a  moment  before  he 
answered  her,  and  then  he  said,  'Jennie,  you  re- 
member that  a  year  ago  a  baby  came  into  your  sis- 
ter's household — a  dear,  sweet,  healthy  girl ;  but  as 
helpless  as  a  wave  of  the  sea.  Do  you  remember 
all  that  was  done  for  her?  How  everybody  in  the 
family  tried  to  think  of  some  new  service  for  that 
tiny  bit  of  human  life — from  the  dainty  linens  and 
laces  made  ready  before  she  came  to  the  scientific 
preparation  of  her  food  and  her  rules  of  life,  and  to 
the  love  which  waked  and  watched  day  and  night  for 
her  comfort?  Now,  dear  child,  that  is  the  kind  of 
care  that  we  human  beings  give  to  the  new  life 
which  comes  into  our  lives.  Do  you  suppose  that  God 
is  less  loving  than  we?  Can't  you  believe  that  in  the 
home  which  He  is  calling  you  to  enter  there  is  making 
ready  every  device  for  your  happiness  and  every  pro- 
tection by  which  love  may  make  you  feel  at  home? 
Think  about  that,  dear  girl.'  The  word  brought  a  new 
light  to  her  face,  even  as  he  spoke.  The  dying  girl  re- 
curred to  it  again  and  again,  and  in  the  very  last 
moment,  looking  up  into  Dr.  Donald's  face  with  the 
ineffable  smile  of  one  who  dies  in  peace,  she  whis- 
pered, "To  prepare  a  place  for  you." 

And  still  there  is  one  thing  which,  I  suppose,  we 
will  never  know  until  we  are  there,  "That  where  I  am, 
there  ye  may  be  also."  One  can  fancy  how  that  prom- 
ise came  back  to  these  apostles,  evermore  engaging 


392  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.   ALBERT 

and  entrancing.  They  had  known  Jesus.  There  never 
was  one  Hke  Him.  Those  three  years  of  fellowship 
were  the  sunlit  years  of  their  lives.  Why,  when  one 
thinks  of  it,  those  years  were  the  gospel  they  gave 
up  their  lives  as  martyrs  to  preach. 

And  some  day  they  would  see  Him  again.  They 
would  be  like  Him.  And  so  heaven's  chief  glory  would 
be.  to  be  with  Jesus.  Even  so  it  will  be  with  us.  We 
have  often  wished  to  have  heard  Him,  to  have  seen 
Him,  to  have  sat  at  His  feet.  Well,  we  shall  hear 
Him,  see  Him,  sit  at  His  feet.  "I  will  come  again  and 
receive  you  unto  myself,  that  w^here  I  am  there  ye 
may  be  also."  The  old  saint,  John,  at  Patmos,  ends 
his  message,  the  last  word  of  Revelation,  with  the 
Master's  words,  "Surely,  I  come  quickly,"  and  his  re- 
sponse, "Even  so;  come.  Lord  Jesus."  It  was  the  cry 
for  the  fellowship  that  will  be  the  supreme  joy  of 
our  home  beyond. 


A  CHRISTMAS  MEDITATION 

In  the  story  of  the  birth  of  Christ,  how  touching 
are  the  words.  "And  she  brought  forth  her  first  born 
Son,  and  wrapped  Him  in  swaddling  clothes,  and  laid 
Him  in  a  manger;  because  there  7vas  no  room  for  thetn 
in  the  inn."  The  mother  of  Jesus  had  as  her  com- 
panions the  beasts  of  the  stall,  and  Jesus  was  cradled 
in  a  manger,  because  in  their  deep  need  no  one  would 
yield  his  or  her  place  in  the  inn  to  them. 

It  was  due  to  selfishness,  but  it  was  also  caused  by 
poverty.  They  could  not  give  the  money  which  might 
have  bribed  the  grasping  to  surrender  his  place  in  the 
inn  to  Mary.  Joseph  and  Mary  were  not  beggars,  but 
they  were  poor.  The  sacrifice  oflfered  by  Mary  at  her 
purification  shows  this.  Her  offering  was  the  offering 
of  the  poor,  "A  pair  of  turtle-doves  or  two  young 
pigeons." 

It  appears  as  though  Jesus  never  forgot  the  sad 
circumstances  of  His  birth.  At  least  His  references 
to  His  poverty  and  to  the  poor  are  frequent.  Luke 
and  Matthew  record  a  saying  that  almost  seems  an 
echo  of  this — "because  there  was  no  room  for  them 
in  the  inn."  Both  tell  of  one  who  came  to  Jesus  and 
said  unto  him.  "Lord.  I  will  follow  Thee  withersoever 
Thou  goest.  And  Jesus  said  unto  him.  Foxes  have 
holes  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests :  but  the  Son 
of  man  hath  not  where  to  lay  His  head."  There  was 
no  room  for  Him  in  the  inn  even  then.  He  was 
homeless,  dependent  upon  the  kindness  of  others. 
When  He  wanted  to  cross  the  sea  it  was  in  a  bor- 
rowed boat ;  when  He  rode  into  Jerusalem  in  triumph 
it  was  on  a  borrowed  beast,  and  when  He  was  buried 
it  was  in  a  borrowed  tomb. 

If  we  kept  this  in  mind,  how  some  of  His  teachings 
would  deepen.    When  He  spoke  to  the  anxious  about 

393 


394  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF   CHARLES  S.   ALBERT 

taking  no  thought  for  their  Hfe,  what  they  should  eat 
or  what  they  should  drink,  nor  yet  for  their  body, 
what  they  should  put  on,  and  pointed  them  to  the 
birds,  without  storehouse  or  barns,  who  yet  were  fed 
by  the  heavenly  Father;  and  to  the  lilies  of  the  field, 
which  toiled  not  nor  spun,  and  yet  Solomon  in  all  his 
glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  them.  He  Himself 
was  the  true  example  of  that  happy  trust  without  anx- 
ious care  for  the  morrow.  He  trusted  that  the  Father 
would  feed  Him  and  would  clothe  Him.  In  His  pov- 
erty He  was  serene  and  confident,  because  He  had 
sought  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteous- 
ness, and  He  knew  all  things  should  be  added  unto 
Him. 

And  how  truly  this  was  proven  by  those  days  at 
Bethlehem.  There  was  no  room  for  Him  and  Mary 
and  Joseph  in  the  inn.  None  in  the  inn  were  so  mean 
as  to  do  Him  and  them  honor.  But  the  angels  left 
the  throne  of  God  to  do  Him  reverence  and  worship 
Him.  The  shepherds  came  with  haste  to  the  manger 
and  adored  Him.  In  the  temple,  Simeon  blessed  God 
for  the  sight  of  the  Child,  whose  mother  could  only 
bring  the  offering  of  the  poor,  and  sang  in  such 
ecstatic  strains  that  the  Church  has  been  repeating  his 
"Lord,  now  lettest  Thou  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace, 
according  to  Thy  word,"  in  all  the  ages  since.  Anna 
the  prophetess  gave  thanks  for  Him  as  the  looked-for 
redemption. 

They  were  poor.  The  grim,  cruel  tyrant,  Herod, 
was  on  their  track  to  kill  this  strange  Child,  that  some 
said  was  born  king  of  the  Jews.  How  shall  they,  so 
poor,  flee  into  the  strange  land,  Egypt,  and  live  there? 
But  the  wise  men  had  found  Him  and  worshiped,  giv- 
ing them  treasures  of  gold,  frankincense  and  myrrh. 
Without  storehouse,  they  were  fed,  and  the  morrow 
was  made  secure. 

Out  of  that  first  Christmas  comes  the  lesson  that 
God  will  care  for  us  when  we  are  His,  so  surely  as 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  395 

He  cares  for  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the  lilies  of  the 
field. 

It  did  not  mean  idleness.  Joseph,  returned  to  Naza- 
reth from  Eg-ypt.  toiled  over  the  carpenter's  bench,  and 
as  Jesus  grew  in  stature,  He  became  his  helper.  Then, 
perhaps,  Joseph  died,  and  Jesus  supported  the  family 
by  the  labor  of  His  hands,  for  was  He  not  the  Car- 
penter of  Nazareth  ?  The  pay  was  meager,  and  the 
living  now  must  have  been  poor.  We  think  of  the 
hands  of  Christ  the  healer,  so  tender  in  touch  and  com- 
passionate. The  hands  with  the  nail  prints  of  the 
cross,  who  can  forget  them !  Still,  it  is  well  to  think  of 
the  hands  of  the  little  Babe  who  was  poor,  the  hands 
of  the  helping  Boy,  the  rough,  calloused  hands  of  the 
Carpenter,  made  so  by  toil  to  support  His  mother  and 
brethren. 

For,  after  all,  the  mass  of  men  and  women  and 
little  children  are  poor.  Jesus  took  upon  Himself  the 
conditions  which  made  Him  one  with  the  multitudes, 
that  they  might  know  His  heart  towards  them,  that 
shared  their  burdens  then  and  is  not  unmindful  of 
them  now.  Sometimes  we  wonder  whether  Christmas, 
the  children's  festival,  because  of  the  babe  Jesus,  is  not 
also  the  festival  of  the  poor  rather  than  the  rich,  be- 
cause Jesus  was  poor  and  "there  was  no  room  in  the 
inn"  for  Him. 

It  is  true  Jesus  saw  that  which  is  the  chief  thing  in 
man.  Not  what  men  win,  their  houses,  fortunes,  rank, 
culture,  is  chief,  but  the  soul,  the  man  that  may  be  a 
child  of  God,  is  the  chief  thing.  He  could  not,  there- 
fore, but  care  for  every  poor  man,  every  sinner.  And 
yet  there  are  some  things  that  seem  to  lead  us  back 
to  His  own  life  of  poverty  in  His  teachings.  To 
John  He  sends  the  message,  after  telling  of  the  dis- 
eased He  had  cured.  "The  poor  have  the  gospel 
preached  unto  them."  He  could  not  forget  them, 
for  was  He  not  one  of  them?  And  in  that  great 
judgment  scene  He  banishes   from   Him  those  who 


396  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF   CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

would  not  feed  the  hungry,  give  drink  to  the  thirsty, 
clothe  the  naked,  visit  the  sick  and  those  in  prison. 
We  would  not  for  a  moment  rob  these  words  of  their 
greater  content,  but  we  would  not  forget,  either,  that 
Jesus  knew  hunger  and  thirst  and  neglect.  Perhaps 
as  He  said  these  words  there  may  have  been  a  recol- 
lection of  His  pure  and  lovely  mother,  sick  in  Bethle- 
hem and  unvisited,  thrust  out  to  the  beasts  of  the  stall 
in  her  dire  extremity.  For  her  "there  was  no  room 
in  the  inn." 

And  the  thought  goes  home,  are  we  keeping  the 
Christmas  of  the  Lord  when,  outside  of  our  inn  of 
home,  with  its  flashing  lights,  with  its  Christmas  tree 
ablaze  with  splendor,  with  its  groaning  tables,  with 
the  rich  presents  interchanged,  in  hovels  worse  than 
mangers  the  poor  are  thrust,  with  no  bread,  no  cloth- 
ing, no  Christmas  cheer? 

Can  we  not  in  some  way  make  a  place  of  cheer 
and  comfort  to  the  hungry,  the  thirsty,  the  naked, 
the  sick  and  the  prisoner?  We  may  by  gifts  of  food 
and  clothing,  but,  surely  by  the  greater  gifts  of  kind- 
ness, fellow-feeling,  brotherliness,  justice,  we  may 
open  the  inn  of  Bethlehem,  and  in  so  doing  make  room 
for  the  Christ  "who  though  He  was  rich,  yet  for  our 
sakes  became  poor." 


THE  HIGHEST  MINISTRY 

A  recent  popular  novel  assails  the  ministry,  claiming 
that  they  are  not  ministers,  those  that  serve,  but  so 
hampered  by  their  creeds  and  congregational  leaders 
that  thev  are  practically  men  without  conviction,  or 
must  preach  what  is  outworn  to  placate  their  member- 
ship. The  hero,  a  minister,  superb  in  physical  man- 
hood, of  remarkable  purity  of  soul,  of  strong  con- 
science, is  called  to  a  church  which  is  dominated  by 
a  hypocrite  and  cheat,  but  who  is  a  great  power  be- 
cause he  is  a  large  contributor  to  the  treasuries  of  the 
local  and  general  church.  The  outcome  of  the  conflict 
is  that  the  minister  is  driven  from  the  congregation 
and  relinquishes  the  pulpit  so  that  he  may  truly  minis- 
ter. He  gives  his  energies  to  accumulating  wealth  that 
he  may  care  for  outcasts  and  cripples,  which  last  is 
indeed  worthy. 

This  conception  of  ministry  is  a  curious  one ;  the 
conclusion  reached  a  very  important  one.  Neverthe- 
less the  principles,  the  book  claims,  are  the  real  prin- 
ciples of  Christ  and  true  Christianity. 

Let  us  take  the  conclusion  first  in  the  light  of  the 
Gospels.  Jesus  Himself  was  a  poor  man.  He  does  not 
seem  to  have  cared  to  make  a  rich  man  one  of  His  inti- 
mate disciples.  They,  too.  were  poor,  or  in  very  moder- 
ate circumstances.  His  words  concerning  wealth  are 
warning  words.  "Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon." 
"How  hardly  (with  difficulty)  shall  a  rich  man  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  He  has  a  place  for  the 
rich.  Wealthy  men  can  be  Christians  and  good  stew- 
ards of  God.  But  Jesus  indicates  that  riches  bring 
many  temptations,  and  that  to  gain  them  and  handle 
them  when  gained  in  the  fear  of  God  requires  watch- 
fulness. 

Riches,   again,   are   helpless   in   themselves.      They 

397 


398  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLpS  S.  ALBERT 

furnish  machinery;  they  do  not  make  men.  The  con- 
scientious rich  man  is  ever  seeking  personaHties  to  use 
his  money.  He  is  perplexed  where  to  put  his  money, 
that  it  may  help  and  not  hinder.  Unless  he  can  find 
the  right  kind  of  men  and  women  to  take  his  money 
and  use  it,  his  investments  do  more  harm  than  good. 
The  personality  is  worth  more  than  money.  It  takes 
a  good  man  to  do  good.  Money  does  not  make  a  man 
good.  The  goodness  is  from  within  where  money 
cannot  reach. 

So  the  conclusion  of  his  book  is  a  very  impotent 
one.  The  moneyed  man  is  not  necessarily  a  minister, 
even  though  he  has  good  plans.  He  ministers  where 
he  personally  helps,  his  money  given  can  only  give 
another  person  a  chance  to  do  good,  which  will  de- 
pend on  the  person  himself  or  herself,  or  help  some- 
times in  bodily  need. 

The  conception  of  ministry  is  a  very  curious  one. 
Ministry  is  service.  It  seeks  to  help  another  man  to 
something  better.  We  may  help  a  man  to  get  money, 
or  we  may  give  sufferers  money,  and  it  may  be  real 
help.  But  if  a  man  be  ignorant,  vicious,  he  may  be  the 
worse  for  it.  To  give  to  the  beggar  is  far  oftener  a 
hindrance  than  help.  Giving  often  pauperizes  another. 
It  takes  away  self-respect,  makes  the  independent  de- 
pendent. The  problem  of  helping  the  poor  is  still  the 
vexing  one  to  the  benevolent. 

It  is  possible  to  place  another  in  comfort,  surround 
him  with  refining  influences,  that  add  a  polish  to  man- 
ners, a  gracious  bearing.  It  is  possible  to  lead  him  into 
knowledge,  until  in  intellect  and  far-reaching  thought, 
in  comprehension  of  the  great  and  beautiful,  he  is 
like  a  god.  And  still,  he  might  have  lowness  of  moral- 
ity, meanness  of  character,  a  heart  full  of  the  creep- 
ing things  of  foulness. 

We  come  to  see  that  the  finest  ministry  is  the  min- 
istry to  the  spirit  and  heart  The  man  that  can  come 
to  his  fellows  cast  down  and  cheer  them,  to  the  doubt- 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS    THEMES  399 

ers  and  grive  iheni  certainty,  to  the  seekers  and  show 
them  light ;  who  can  inspire,  comfort,  strengthen,  flash 
upon  men  radiant  visions  of  what  they  may  be,  min- 
isters in  richest  measure. 

As  we  think  of  Jesus  that  is  what  impresses.  He 
did  heal  the  sick.  But  often  there  is  reluctance.  He 
will  not  heal  unless  there  be  faith  in  the  request.  When 
the  four  men  let  down  the  paralytic,  He  strangely 
says,  "Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee."  In  the  heart  of 
this  man  is  a  sorer  burden  than  his  disease.  It  is  sin. 
Jesus  speaks  to  the  deeper  need.  There  is  no  use  to 
take  away  the  paralysis  unless  He  takes  away  the  sin 
that  caused  it.  There  was  no  use  in  making  the  faces 
of  sufferers  like  the  faces  of  the  angels  of  God,  glori- 
ous for  beauty  and  strength,  if  the  evil  principle  was 
left  to  change  them  again  to  the  faces  of  loathsome 
viciousness. 

Jesus  laid  His  stress  on  His  message.  "I  am  come 
that  ye  might  have  life."  "The  words  that  I  speak 
unto  you  they  are  spirit  and  they  are  life."  The  man 
that  builds  his  house  on  the  rock,  heareth  His  sayings, 
and  doeth  them. 

The  highest  ministry  is  the  ministry  to  the  spirit. 
It  has  not  been  a  mistake  to  call  the  preacher  or  teacher 
a  minister.  The  man  that  can  bring  to  another  the 
message  of  life,  that  can  show  the  sinner  how  to  be 
forgiven,  how  to  become  a  child  of  God.  that  can 
teach  another  the  words  and  fellowship  of  Jesus,  that 
can  warn,  stir,  comfort,  inspire  with  the  truths  of 
God,  is  a  minister  in  the  supremest  sense. 

"He  made  me  see  God,"  said  a  w^orkingman  of  his 
minister.  "He  was  my  inspiration,"  said  a  parishioner 
of  his  minister  who  had  gone  elsewhere. 

Nor  must  we  forget  the  true  minister  serves  with  his 
hands  as  well.  He  must  know  men  and  women  in 
their  work,  in  their  play.  He  must  suffer  with  them, 
rejoice  with  them,  nurse  the  sick  if  need  be,  care  for 
the  dying.     He  must  be  a  man  among  men.     We  can 


400  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

really  minister  to  no  one  unless  some  of  our  life  goes 
into  our  service.  It  costs  one  life-blood  to  help  another 
aright.  Only  the  man  that  lives  with  Jesus  Christ  will 
learn  how  in  the  deepest  and  best  ways.  Only  God 
can  teach  that  and  only  God  can  renew  the  strength 
failing  under  the  demands  of  a  ministry  that  takes  our 
life.    Only  God  can  keep  us  hopeful. 


ENCOURAGEMENT 

Possibly  there  is  nothing  wherein  we  fail  so  sadly 
as  in  hearty  encouragement.  It  seems  to  be  a  part 
of  perverted  human  nature  to  find  fault,  to  dwell 
upon  the  flaws  in  deeds  done.  It  is  not  meant  that 
there  should  not  be  judicious  criticism,  but  it  should 
be  mixed  with  discriminating  encouragement.  The 
encouragement  will  hearten  and  cheer  and  nerve  the 
listener  determined  to  overcome  the  fault. 

Some  years  ago,  in  an  Italian  city,  two  young  men 
heard  a  young  girl  sing  whose  voice  was  exquisite, 
but  she  lacked  confidence.  She  was  poor,  friendless, 
painfully  shy  and  timid.  These  royal  young  men 
started  in  to  encourage  her.  They  bought  some  lovely 
flowers,  and  after  her  first  number,  in  which  she  failed 
to  display  her  voice  because  of  stage  fright,  sent  them 
to  her.  It  was  the  wine  of  life  to  her.  She  had  ob- 
tained recognition.  There  was  in  her  that  which  was 
worthy.  The  next  number  was  beautifully  rendered, 
and  obtained  generous  applause.  The  next  day  the 
encouragers  kept  up  the  good  work,  and  sent  her  a 
note,  which,  in  courteous  words,  conveyed  to  her  just 
and  appreciative  comments  on  her  work,  and  predicted 
to  her  a  roseate  future  if  she  persisted  in  her  musical 
training.  Long  afterward,  when  she  was  a  queen  of 
song,  she  confessed  that  the  encouragement  then  given 
her  made  her  after-success.  The  failure  thus  averted, 
she  declared,  would  have  caused  her  to  relinquish  her 
studies  as  hopeless.  The  cheer  came  just  at  the  crisis, 
and  restored  her  courage  and  hope. 

Such  instances  might  be  multiplied.  The  minister 
is  often  profoundly  grateful  for  the  listener  who  some- 
how thinks  his  duty  is  not  done  until  he  puts  his 
warm,  friendly  hand  into  his,  and  thanks  him  for  every 
good  word  spoken.     Crockett  says  of  a  plain  Scotch- 

^  401 


402  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S,  ALBERT 

man,  William  Greig:  "He  was  of  the  great  Society 
of  Encouragers,  who  make  the  wheels  of  the  world 
go  around.  May  power  be  given  to  their  elbows ! 
Many  a  raw  lad  preaching  his  first  or  second  sermon 
had  been  grateful  for  the  handshake  and  good  cheer. 
Many  a  one  had  carried  William  Greig's  voice  with 
him  in  a  nook  of  his  memory,  as  William  himself 
might  carry  a  lamb  in  the  nook  of  his  plaidie.  There 
was  once,  they  say,  a  sad-voiced,  disappointed  proba- 
tioner, who  had  preached  in  vacancies  and  as  supply 
for  years  which  ran  into  two  figures.  He  was  so  set 
up  by  a  good  word  of  William  Greig's  that  he  pulled 
himself  together  the  following  Sabbath  day,  and 
preached  so  well  that  he  took  a  congregation  by  storm 
and  got  a  call  on  the  spot.  He  does  not  know  it,  but 
it  was  William  Greig  who  got  him  that  call." 

The  careful  reader  of  the  epistles  of  Paul  has  ob- 
served that  the  apostle  always  begins  with  words  of 
commendation,  no  matter  how  serious  may  have  been 
their  conduct  which  calls  for  rebuke,  except,  perhaps, 
that  epistle  to  the  Galatians,  which  was  written  in  the 
white  heat  of  indignation  because  they  had  removed 
from  the  grace  of  Christ  to  another  gospel.  Even 
where  he  rebukes  he  is  careful  to  bring  in  words  of 
appreciation,  and  always  ends  with  words  of  strength- 
ening hope  and  large  expectation.  It  always  seems 
to  us  that  Paul's  own  conduct  is  a  beautiful  commen- 
tary on  that  glorious  thirteenth  chapter  of  First  Cor- 
inthians, especially  on  the  words,  "Beareth  all  things, 
believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  endureth  all 
things."  Is  it  not  of  the  innermost  power  of  Christ 
and  His  gospel,  the  never-failing  encouragement  He 
holds  out  to  every  man,  even  the  worst?  When  Paul, 
therefore,  encourages  some  of  those  early  saints  who, 
to  judge  by  his  own  description,  were  more  nearly 
scapegraces  than  saints,  is  he  not  just  like  the  Master 
who  saw  in  publicans  and  sinners  possible  saints,  and 
gave  them  words  of  hope,  and  praised  everyone  who 


GENERAL    RELIGIOUS    THEMES  403 

gave  evidence  of  desire  for  better  life?  Surely  this  is 
true,  or  somehow  we  have  not  read  aright  the  stories 
of  the  woman  that  was  a  sinner,  of  Zacchaeus,  or  the 
parables  of  the  Good  Samaritan  and  the  Prodigal 
Son. 

Every  great  successful  worker  has  had  this  gift  of 
encouragement.  He  was  ever  on  the  lookout  to  see 
the  struggles  of  others  and  speak  just  the  right  word 
of  cheer.  "There  is  not  one  doing  a  commendable 
work  but  needs  the  loyal  help  of  all  who  love  our  Lord 
and  Master.  There  is  not  one  struggling  to  become 
better  who  does  not  need  our  encouragement;  never 
our  neglect."  It  is  essential  for  all  wise  workers  with 
the  young  to  study  them,  to  speak  just  the  words  of 
encouragement  which  they  need.  They  must  guard 
themselves  against  fault-finding  and  must  in  wise  love, 
like  Jesus,  have  the  fitting  word  of  hope,  if  they  would 
wisely  help  them  to  life  with  God. 


FAITH  AND  FEAR— A  LIFE  CONTRAST 

Jesus  Christ  fills  the  soul  with  confidence.  The 
natural  fears  which  come  through  ignorance  are  re- 
placed by  truths  that  light  up  the  dark  places.  Let 
us  set  out  in  contrast  the  words  of  two  men  repre- 
senting two  courses  of  conduct,  two  schools  of  thought, 
as  men  look  on  this  world,  with  its  overhanging  clouds, 
its  impending  uncertainties. 

One  man  shall  speak  for  the  agnostic,  for  doubt, 
for  the  ignorance  which  culture  brings,  the  blank 
pessimism  that  would  enfold  us  all  if  we  judged  only 
by  the  cloud,  and  heard  no  voice  from  out  the  cloud. 

Matthew  Arnold,  on  Dover  Beach ;  the  sea  calm ; 
the  tide  full;  the  moon  fair;  the  lights  gleaming  on 
the  distant  French  coast ;  it  is  a  night  of  beauty,  and 
the  poet  is  inspired  to  put  into  rhythm  some  words 
that  are  suggested  by  the  sentiment  of  the  hour. 

What  shall  they  be? 

"Listen,  you  hear  the  grating  roar 
Of  pebbles  which  the  waves  draw  back  and  fling, 
At  their   return,   up  the  high   strand, 
Begin,  and  cease,  and  then  again  begin, 
With  tremulous  cadence  slow,  and  bring 
The   eternal   note   of   sadness   in. 
.  .  .  Sophocles  long  ago 
Heard  it  on  the  ^Egean  Sea,  and  it  brought 
Into  his  mind  the  turbid  ebb  and  flow 
Of  human  misery  ;  we  find 
Also  in  the  sound  a  thought. 
Hearing  it  by  this  distant  northern  sea. 
.  .  .  The  world,   which  seems 
To  lie  before  us  like  a  land  of  dreams. 
So  various,   so  beautiful,   so  new, 
Hath  really  neither  joy,  nor  love,  nor  light. 
Nor  certitude,  nor  peace,  nor  help   for  pain ; 
And  we  are  here  as  on  a  darkling  plain. 
Swept  with  confused  alarms  of  struggles  and  flight, 
Where  ignorant  armies  clash  by  night." 

404 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  405 

Here  was  the  r.iuurnful.  melancholy  plaint  of  the 
soul  that  had  much  culture  and  no  faith. 

The  voice  of  the  sea  is  full  of  sadness.  Life  is  a 
cheat.  There  is  no  certainty  of  anything,  except  clouds, 
struggles,  alarms,  and  the  clash  by  night  of  ignorant 
armies. 

Is  that  all  that  modern  culture  can  tell  us? 

Surely  here  is  no  gospel  of  sweetness  and  light. 
Why,  the  old  Hebrews  were  in  a  much  better  case ; 
for  their  poet  said,  "The  sea  is  His,  and  He  made  it." 
"His  judgments  are  a  great  deep." 

Turn  to  the  contrasted  life,  in  which  faith  takes 
the  place  of  fear. 

General  Armstrong  ( known  especially  for  his  edu- 
cational work  down  in  Hampton,  Va. )  was  born  in 
the  Hawaiian  Islands  in  1839.  He  died  in  1893,  after 
a  life  of  varied  usefulness,  in  which  strength,  courage, 
ministry  to  others,  were  the  marked  characteristics. 

Among  General  Armstrong's  papers  was  found, 
after  his  death,  a  memorandum,  in  which  were  set 
down  some  simple  requests  and  expressions  of  the 
tlee])est  convictions  of  the  man's  soul. 

There  is  not  one  word  of  doubt,  misgiving  or  fear 
in  the  whole  document. 

Let  me  quote  two  or  three  sentences : 

"Now,  when  all  is  bright,  the  family  together,  and 
there  is  nothing  to  alarm,  and  very  much  to  be  thank- 
ful for,  it  is  well  to  look  ahead,  and,  perhaps,  to  say 
the  things  that  I  would  wish  known  should  1  suddenly 
die." 

He  knew  he  was  to  enter  the  cloud,  but  there  was  no 
hint  of  fear. 

"I  hope  that  there  will  be  enough  friends  to  see  that 
the  work  continues.  Unless  someone  makes  sacri- 
fices for  it,  it  cannot  go  on.  A  work  that  requires 
no  sacrifices  does  not  count  for  much  in  fulfilling 
God's  plan.  But  what  is  commonly  called  sacrifice 
is  really  the  best  natural  use  of  one's  self  and  one's 


406  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.   ALBERT 

resources ;  the  best  investment  of  one's  time,  strength 
and  means." 

Then  looking  right  into  the  very  heart  of  the  cloud 
which  has  made  so  many  strong  men  cry  out  like 
children,  he  says: 

"I  am  most  curious  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  next 
world.  How  will  it  all  seem  ?  Perfectly  fair  and  per- 
fectly natural,  no  doubt.  We  ought  not  to  fear  death ; 
it  is  friendly.  The  only  pain  that  comes  at  the  thought 
of  it  is  for  my  true,  faithful  wife,  and  blessed,  dear 
children ;  but  they  will  be  brave,  and,  in  the  end, 
stronger.  ...  It  pays  to  follow  one's  best  light,  to 
put  God  and  country  first,  and  ourselves  afterwards." 

What  a  difference  in  the  spirit  and  words  of  two 
such  men ! 

One  is  the  fearful,  timid  soul,  the  other  is  the  trust- 
ing child  that  believes  the  Father's  love  cannot  harm. 

The  one  beats  retreat,  and  in  melancholy  strain 
gives  us  a  dirge  that  would  take  ambition  out  of  the 
heart. 

The  other  sounds  a  bugle  call  to  battle. 

It  is  the  everlasting  contrast  that  meets  us  between 
strength  and  weakness,  between  faith  and  fear. 


WHICH— REPUTATION  OR  SIMPLICITY? 

Boyd  says  of  the  Gifford  Lectures  of  Andrew  Lang, 
that  they  were  "very  clever  and  wonderfully  bright." 
Yet  the  dreariest  professor  of  divinity  never  filled 
his  prelection  fuller  of  weighty  thought  and  rare  learn- 
ing. I  never,  besides,  was  more  impressed  than  at 
this  time  with  the  fact  how  natural  it  is  to  suppose 
that  what  is  sparkling  and  eflfervescent  must  be  lack- 
ing in  weight ;  that  what  is  brilliant  cannot  be  solid. 
'Wonderfully  smart,  but  very  slight,'  one  often  heard, 
when  the  lecture  had,  in  truth,  been  as  massive  as  if 
given  by  Dr.  Dryasdust.  One  felt  that  in  the  world 
it  is  not  safe  to  be  too  bright." 

Brightness  of  thought  is  a  matter  of  temperament 
and  cultivation.  Some  men  see  clearly  and  state 
clearly  what  they  see.  Others  see  clearly,  but  express 
themselves  indistinctly.  If  one  troubles  himself  to 
study  the  involved  sentences,  he  finds  strong  thought. 
Kant,  for  instance,  is  meaty,  but  he  takes  a  great  deal 
of  chewing.  Browning  gives  his  admirers  much  trou- 
ble to  get  at  his  meaning.  Tennyson,  to  my  mind,  is 
as  strong  as  Browning,  but  his  touch  is  the  touch  of 
light. 

The  preacher  is  a  teacher,  and  he  needs  to  culti- 
vate strength  and  clearness.  The  Lord  Jesus  is  the 
most  admirable  model.  His  words  are  oft  so  marvel- 
ously  simple  that  they  appear  to  lack  depth,  but  when 
we  seek  to  go  beneath  them,  or  above  them,  the  pro- 
found and  majestic  truths  refuse  to  be  measured  by 
our  plummet,  or  the  arrow-flight  of  intellect.  Among 
the  beautiful  features  of  Watkins'  Glen  are  the  limpid 
pools.  So  pellucid  is  the  water  that  the  shining  sands 
are  clearly  seen  at  the  bottom  of  the  rock-bound  pool. 
They  seem  within  the  reach  of  the  hand,  but  as  you 

407 


408  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

step  in  you  are  treated  to  a  bath  over  your  head. 
Pellucid  are  the  words  of  Jesus,  but,  when  tried,  deep 
with  the  wisdom  of  God. 

Muddiness  often  passes  for  depth.  The  other  day, 
as  I  sorrowfully  plied  my  way  through  the  mud  and 
melting  snow,  I  came  to  a  pool.  Apparently  the  muddy 
waters  had  no  bottom.  Carefully  I  put  my  foot  down 
and  found  my  rubber  was  not  covered.  I  have  heard 
in  my  day  some  great  men,  who  had  reputation  for 
depth,  and  I  found  them  muddy  and  shallow.  But 
many  wondered  and  applauded. 

There  are  many  things  that  cannot  be  made  plain. 
One  may  flash  upon  them  the  limelight  of  illustration 
and  help,  but,  after  all,  they  refuse  to  be  made  com- 
mon. But  the  things  to  live  by  can  be  understood. 
In  the  time  of  Abraham  the  wheat  grew  just  as  it 
does  now.  Our  flour  making  processes  may  be  vastly 
superior,  and  we  may  know  by  scientific  analysis  of 
what  wheat  is  composed,  but  we  still  trust  the  seed 
grain  to  the  earth ;  and  the  gracious  sunlight,  the  re- 
freshing rain,  the  light  and  the  darkness,  bring  it  to 
maturity,  as  thousands  of  years  ago.  The  fact  was 
plain  then  as  now.  Abraham's  faith  and  obedience 
.were  not  different  from  our  faith  and  obedience,  if 
he  had  not  the  advantages  we  have  to-day.  Paul  found 
him  a  magnificent  illustration  of  true  faith  in  the  full 
blaze  of  Christianity,  though  some  of  our  wise  find 
him   antiquated. 

In  our  day  there  is  a  good  deal  of  nonsense,  as  I 
suppose  there  has  always  been.  Ours  is  inclined  to 
take  the  form  of  a  chemical  analysis  of  the  Scriptures. 
The  scientific  man  analyzes  the  wheat  to  tell  us  what 
it  is  made  of,  and  astonishes  us  with  his  learning. 
It  is  good.  But  wheat  was  given  for  bread,  and  as 
we  eat  we  know  its  life-sustaining  power.  Still,  our 
fathers  knew  that  as  truly  as  ourselves.  Just  now 
the  books  of  the  Bible  are  passing  through  the  critics' 
hands,  who  are  separating  it  into  an  immense  num- 


GENERAL    RELIGIOUS   THEMES  409 

ber  of  documents,  the  truth  of  which  analysis  no 
mortal  Unows.  It  is  astonishing  learning.  But  the 
Bible  is  intended  to  convey  to  us  the  truth,  and  the 
way  to  discover  that  is  to  accept  it  and  use  it.  The 
fathers  knew  that  as  well  as  we,  and  we  are  not 
displaying  an  immense  amount  of  erudition  in  accept- 
ing the  Bible  as  they  did.  However,  one  may  starve 
during  the  process  of  analysis,  it  seems  so  far  off 
from  solution,  and,  waiting,  die  hopelessly. 

The  sober  fact  remains  that  the  great  truths  to  live 
by  can  be  laid  hold  upon  by  plain  men,  just  as  thou- 
sands find  them  shining  with  peace  and  power  for 
righteousness.  These  truths  can  be  plainly  expressed, 
though  you  cannot  hope  to  win  plaudits  for  orig- 
inality. The  apostle  insists  on  "the  simplicity  that  is 
in  Christ."  To  apprehend  so  as  to  live  does  not  mean 
to  comprehend  so  as  to  understand  completely.  The 
wheat  life  is  a  mystery  to  me,  and  equally  so  to  the 
wise  man  of  science,  but  both  of  us  apprehend  its 
breadmaking  worth  by  trial.  The  Christ  I  do  not 
comprehend,  but  I  do  apprehend  by  trial  that  "He  is 
the  seed-corn  that  dying  brought  life  to  a  sinful  world." 
"He  is  the  bread  of  life." 

There  are  many  of  us  who  know  truth  ;  can  we  not 
clearly  set  forth  the  truths  which  we  know  ?  The  old 
truths  are  the  truths  needed  to-day.  Their  root  is  in 
God,  and  a  breath  of  eternity  is  in  them.  They  will 
always  find  responsive  hearts.  Standing  where  the 
light  shines  on  the  hilltops,  we  can  cry  to  those  who 
wander  in  the  fog  below  and  bring  the  lost  ones  up 
out  of  the  chill  and  desolation,  but  if  we  join  the  wan- 
derers in  the  fog  we  cannot  help  them  and  chill  our- 
selves. 

Standing  with  Christ  in  loving  faith  and  obedience, 
our  voice  shall  utter  no  uncertain  sound,  and  we  can 
cry,  "He  is  the  way.  the  truth  and  the  life."  Is  not 
this  the  secret  of  Paul's  wonderful  words  to  Agrippa  ? 
"T  would  to  God  that  not  only  thou,  but  also  all  that 


410  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF   CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

hear  me  this  day,  were  both  almost  and  altogether 
such  as  I  am,  except  these  bonds."  The  notes  are  the 
notes  of  the  clarion.  He  is  certam  and  helpful,  tor 
his  Hfe  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 


JOYFULNESS 

There  is  a  saying  of  the  Lord  Jesus  that  has  always 
been  puzzHng.  It  occurs  at  the  close  of  the  parable 
of  the  importunate  widow  who  so  troubled  the  un- 
just judge  by  her  continual  coming  that  he  avenged 
her  of  her  adversary.  The  Lord  uses  this  to  enforce 
the  truth  that  "God  will  avenge  His  own  elect  which 
cry  day  and  night  unto  Llim,  though  He  bear  long  with 
them."  Then  follows  the  puzzling  passage,  '"Never- 
theless, when  the  Son  of  man  cometh,  shall  He  find 
faith  on  the  earth?" 

Does  this  mean  that  the  world  will  grow  worse  and 
worse  down  the  centuries,  and  that  our  Lord,  with 
clear  vision  of  the  future,  sees  a  decaying  faith  and 
an  increasing  godlessness?  There  are  other  sayings 
that  are  far  removed  from  this.  The  calm  confidence 
with  which  He  sends  forth  His  disciples  to  conquer 
the  world  for  Him,  the  hopefulness  which  He  creates 
in  them,  the  marvelous  success  w'hich  accompanies 
the  Church  to-day,  are  all  on  the  other  side. 

It  may  refer  to  a  special  form  of  faith,  which  is 
commended  in  the  parable — the  patient  confidence 
which  holds  fast  in  times  of  trouble,  when  God  is  ap- 
parently forgetful  of  His  own,  when  they  cry  and 
there  is  no  answer,  when  the  adversary  appears  to  pre- 
vail. The  Son  of  man  comes  not  only  at  the  final 
judgment,  but  comes  often  in  judgment  to  the  world. 
When  He  comes  in  such  dark  hours,  frequently  oc- 
curring, will  He  find  His  own  patiently  confident  of 
victory  ? 

This  interpretation  accords  with  the  spirit  of  joy 
which  is  characteristic  of  Christianity.  The  Christian 
is  an  optimist.  Paul,  in  the  prison  at  Rome,  writes 
to  the  Philippians.  "Rejoice  in  the  Lord;  and  again 
I  say,  rejoice."  The  prison,  the  bonds,  the  adversaries, 

411 


412  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.   ALBERT 

were  powerless  before  the  sunny  faith  that,  abiding 
in  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  was  clothed  with  the 
radiance  of  joy.  Sometimes,  in  the  parching  heat 
of  summer,  we  stand  by  a  spring  that  bubbles  with 
laughing  music  as  it  sends  forth  lavishly  its  cool, 
refreshing  waters.  Is  there  any  danger  that  it  will 
spend  itself  in  its  generosity?  If  the  spring  had  voice, 
it  would  answer  in  its  joyous  confidence,  "I  fear  not 
the  drouth  of  summer.  The  reservoir  which  feeds  me 
is  great ;  therefore  I  gladly  give."  When  faith  rests 
in  the  Lord,  it  will  still  rejoice  when  all  is  dark  with 
evil  that  apparently  triumphs. 

Is  there  not  something  amiss  when  we  persistently 
croak  over  the  outlook  of  the  Church  and  find  fault 
with  the  doings  of  our  fellow-Christians,  who,  per- 
chance, do  not  agree  with  us?  If  the  Lord  reigns, 
we  may  be  sure  that  the  truth  will  prevail,  and  we  can 
wait  with  joy  fulness  the  result. 

Someone  has  well  said,  "The  want  of  gladness  is, 
like  the  want  of  strength,  to  be  combated  as  a  dis- 
ease, to  be  wrestled  with  and  overcome" ;  and  truly  he 
that  overcometh  hath  his  reward 

"In  the  charms  with  various  zest 
To  every  sense  of  man  addrest; 
Ye  will  not  see  the  wish  to  bless 
With  universal  happiness." 

Men  reckon  without  their  host,  and  shut  their  eyes 
and  complain  that  it  is  dark.  They  are  having  a  heavy 
struggle,  they  are  sitting  bound  like  men  in  a  cage, 
but  their  mental  disease  is  contagious.  We  may  pity, 
but  we  must  not  sympathize  with  them,  but  hurry 
past,  as  do  Virgil  and  Dante  by  certain  helpless  souls, 
with  the  exclamation.  "Reason  not  with  them;  look, 
and  pass  them  by,"  or  we  shall  ourselves  miss  the  path- 
way to  the  light  beyond. 

After  all,  "one  wath  God  is  a  majority."  Elijah, 
with  Him,  conquers  the  priests  of  Baal,  Ahab,  Jeze- 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  413 

bel  and  the  time-serving  multitudes.  Joyousness  is 
strength,  and  the  strength  that  persists  ends  in  joy. 
The  other  day  one  told  of  the  optimistic  and  pessi- 
mistic frogs.  A  milkman,  on  his  way  to  the  city, 
finding  his  milk  too  strong,  and  having  compassion 
on  his  customers,  stopped  at  a  brook  to  weaken  it  with 
a  bucket  of  water.  In  dipping  it  up  he  gathered  in 
two  frogs,  which  went  with  the  water  into  the  milk- 
can.  To  say  that  the  frogs  were  surprised  is  to  put 
it  mildly  indeed.  They  kicked  and  struggled  for  life. 
The  pessimistic  frog,  appalled  by  the  disaster,  soon 
lost  heart,  and  said,  "What's  the  use  of  struggling? 
I  might  as  well  die  now  as  later,"  and  sank  to  the 
bottom  and  died.  The  optimistic  frog  cheerily  said, 
"Well  I  will  kick  as  long  as  I  can ;  perhaps  I  will  sur- 
vive." When  the  milk-can  was  opened,  what  was 
the  surprise  of  the  compassionate  dairyman  to  find  a 
frog  with  a  broad  smile  on  his  happy  face  complacently 
sitting  on  a  little  pat  of  butter.  He  had  kept  on  kicking 
until  he  had  churned  the  butter  and  made  himself  a 
resting  place. 

The  legend  has  its  weaknesses,  but  the  moral  is  still 
there,  that  a  happy  disposition  is  strength  and  wins 
under  the  most  adverse  circumstances. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  "pessimism  depends 
upon  a  want  of  faith — that  is  the  thermometer  which 
falls  or  rises  with  the  increase  or  decrease  of  pessi- 
mism." Had  we  space,  this  might  be  profusely  illus- 
trated by  references  to  past  and  present.  Enough, 
however,  has  been  said  to  put  us  on  our  guard  against 
a  lack  of  joyfulness  and  to  recall  that  noble  truth, 
"The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength." 


OVERSTRESS 

Much  is  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  men  who  are  in- 
tent upon  one  thing,  the  men  of  one  idea  and  one  pur- 
pose. But  it  does  not  mean  that  they  should  dwell 
upon  that  one  idea  and  one  purpose  exclusively,  unless 
it  be  an  idea  so  great  that  to  dwell  upon  it  is  to  dwell 
upon  something  that  touches  and  includes  the  many- 
sidedness  of  life.  Paul  said,  "This  one  thing  I  do" ; 
but  that  one  thing  was  to  be  like  Jesus,  the  end  of  our 
heavenly  calling,  and  that  meant  a  broad  and  great 
life. 

Indeed,  wise  men  tell  us  not  to  dwell  too  exclusively 
on  one  topic.  "If  you  allow  yourself  to  think  too 
much  of  any  subject,  you  will  get  a  partial  craze  upon 
that,  you  will  come  to  vastly  overrate  its  importance." 
Some  time  ago,  a  gentleman  became  interested  in  a 
perfect  ear.  His  close  observation  detected  imper- 
fections everywhere.  Some  stood  out  like  danger  sig- 
nals, some  were  too  big,  some  too  little,  some  were  too 
broad  in  the  lobe,  some  too  narrow,  until  at  last  he 
was  made  uncomfortable  by  the  ugliness  of  this  useful 
organ.  He  became  so  enslaved  that  he  saw  nothing 
but  ears,  ugly  ears,  everywhere.  The  nobly  shaped 
head,  the  lovely  face,  the  speaking  eye,  the  mobile  lips, 
were  as  though  they  were  not. 

I  had  a  friend,  an  excellent  man.  too,  who  once  in- 
formed me  of  a  sure  method  by  which  young  men 
could  be  kept  faithful  to  the  church.  I  eagerly  asked 
him  to  tell  me.  His  reply  was,  "They  must  pray  in 
public."  Public  prayer  at  that  time  was  the  subject 
uppermost  in  his  mind.  Some  men  grow  enthusiastic 
over  Christian  Endeavor  Societies,  Luther  Alliances, 
or  King's  Sons  and  Daughters,  and  these,  which  are 
helps,  are  with  them  ends,  and  the  salvation  of  the 
church.     Useful  as  they  are,  it  will  not  do  to  put  too 

414 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  415 

much  stress  upon  them.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  very 
broad. 

There  is  an  incHnation  to  grow  morbid  by  dwelHng 
too  exclusively  on  one  topic.  A  large  share  of  Elijah's 
trouble  grew  out  of  this.  He  was  too  much  occupied 
with  Elijah  and  Jezebel.  He  took  a  despairing  view 
of  the  religious  life  of  Israel,  and  though  he  had  splen- 
did opportunities  to  judge  of  its  condition,  his  stay  at 
the  brook  Cherith  and  his  travels  in  Zarephath  did  not 
exhaust  the  subject.  He  was  a  much  discouraged  man. 
Israel  was  given  up  to  Baal.  He  alone  upheld  Jehovah. 
The  Lord,  however,  reverently  be  it  said,  was  not  dis- 
couraged, and  told  Elijah  that  he  had  seven  thousand 
faithful  left,  and  that  the  future  was  bright  with  hope. 

Elijah  dwelt  too  much  upon  one  topic.  He  needed 
to  look  at  and  note  the  hopeful  signs  as  well  as  the 
gloomy.  There  is  always  a  likelihood  that  in  our 
particular  churches,  or  communities,  the  signs  of  re- 
ligious life  may  be  small  and  discouraging.  The  king- 
dom of  God  is  greater  than  our  congregation,  our 
community,  or  university.  The  wise  man  will  not 
shut  his  eyes  to  dangers,  but  he  will  also  look  out  and 
away,  and,  like  Elijah,  he  will  discover  God's  gracious 
work  elsewhere  and  be  filled  anew  with  hope  and  cour- 
age. 

One  of  the  unfortunate  things  about  dwelling  on  one 
topic  too  much  is  to  find  it  everywhere.  Says  one : 
"If  you  live  in  the  country,  you  may  give  in  to  the  idea 
that  your  house  will  be  broken  into  at  night  by  burg- 
lars, till,  every  time  you  wake  in  the  dark  hours,  you 
may  fancy  you  hear  the  center-bit  at  work  boring 
through  the  window  shutters  down  stairs." 

Specialists  are  not  always  the  best  people  to  con- 
sult, for  they  become  so  infatuated  with  their  specialty 
that  every  ache  and  pain  is  traced  to  some  defect 
in  the  bodily  organ  they  treat.  And  it  is  so,  sometimes, 
in  our  theological  world.  An  idea  takes  possession  of 
us  and  we  see  it  everywhere.     Plans  and  purposes  are 


416  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF   CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

attributed  to  men  of  which  they  never  thought.  And 
whatever  they  do,  the  trail  of  the  serpent  is  over  it 
all.  We  ought  to  struggle  against  this.  It  is  not  the 
highest  Christian  manhood.  There  is  a  broad  law 
of  charity  for  offenders,  and  a  little  of  this  charity 
might  be  extended  to  those  who  are  suspected  of  evil, 
but  against  whom  there  is  no  evidence.  Especially 
should  this  be  the  case  when  the  men  are  of  known 
integrity,  purity  of  purpose  and  spiritual  life.  Good 
men  as  we  are  in  our  own  judgment,  we  may  do  great 
injustice  to  others  by  undue  stress  upon  our  hobby. 
Job's  keenest  pain  was  wrought  by  his  professed 
friends,  who,  having  a  theory  that  was  imperfect, 
sacrificed  Job  rather  than  give  up  their  theory.  It  is 
noteworthy  that  the  Lord's  wrath  was  kindled  against 
them  because  they  had  not  spoken  of  God  the  thing 
which  was  right.  God  metes  out  to  us  as  we  measure 
to  others,  and  though  we  speak  in  His  name  and  for 
His  cause,  we  must  speak  in  wisdom  and  love. 


THE  UNIVERSALITY  OF  CHRIST 

There  are  ideas  with  which  we  have  become  famil- 
iar, whose  immense  significance  we  overlook  because 
they  are  familiar.  The  thought  of  a  world-wide  re- 
ligion is  familiar  to  us,  but  we  need  only  to  reflect  that 
no  founder  of  a  religion,  with  the  exception  of  Christ, 
has  estabished  a  world-wide  religion  to  prove  to  us  its 
extraordinary  significance.  Nor  is  it  less  extraordinary 
when  we  recall  that  Christ  was  of  the  Jews,  the  nar- 
rowest, most  exclusive  of  all  peoples,  who  had  no  con- 
ception that  a  man  could  be  truly  religious  except  he 
became  a  Jew.  The  promise  made  to  Abraham,  and 
enlarged  by  the  prophets,  was  that  all  nations  should 
be  blessed  in  him  and  his  descendants.  God  does  not 
contradict  Himself.  The  Jewish  religion  does  fore- 
shadow Christianity.  But  their  interpretation  fettered 
every  teacher  of  the  nation  excepting  Jesus  Christ. 

God  could  establish  no  religion  that  has  not  in  it 
the  thought  of  universality.  The  whole  world  is  of 
God,  and  God  must  have  the  whole  world  in  His 
thought.  The  laws  that  undergird  the  world  are  the 
same  for  every  portion  thereof.  The  drop  of  water  in 
the  midst  of  the  boundless  ocean  and  the  fragments 
of  rock  on  a  splintered  mountain  crag  are  equally  con- 
trolled by  gravitation.  Every  law  is  but  a  thought  of 
God,  expressed  in  regular  sequence,  and  it  bears  the 
impress  of  His  universality.  God  would  be  imperfect 
and  not  God  if  He  were  less  than  comprehensive  in 
His  laws. 

Every  man  is  of  God.  and  God  must  have  every  man 
in  His  thought.  The  religion  that  omits  some  men  be- 
cause of  race  or  color,  or  because  of  national  customs, 
or  ordinances  restrictive,  may  have  truth,  but  it  is  not 
the  fullness  of  truth,  nor  worthy  of  God's  universality. 

How  this  is  brought  to  our  attention  from  the  very 
27  417 


418  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

beginning  of  the  gospel,  and  impressed  upon  us  to  the 
very  end  of  the  life  of  Jesus !  The  angel's  song  rings 
with  this  note  of  universality,  "On  earth  peace,  good- 
will to  men."  Simeon,  lifted  up  in  the  Spirit,  beholds 
Christ,  "the  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles."  The  wise 
men,  the  firstfruits  of  the  nations,  are  led  by  a  star, 
for  this  Christ  is  for  the  waiting,  sorrowing,  despair- 
ing world,  and  not  alone  for  the  Jews.  Like  a  benedic- 
tion falls  on  a  weary  world  the  saying,  "God  so  loved 
the  world  that  He  gave  His  only-begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  The  last  words  of  the  Saviour  are 
the  clarion  call  to  the  church  militant,  "Go  ye  into  the 
world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature." 

Every  attentive  student  of  Jesus  Christ  discovers 
that  His  purpose  was  not  merely  "to  redeem  His  own 
nation,  but  the  world,  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  and 
by  His  life  to  leave  behind  to  latest  generations  an  ex- 
ample for  imitation — in  fine,  to  found  God's  kingdom 
upon  earth — an  aim  which  none  of  the  great  ever  pro- 
posed to  themselves,  the  necessity  of  which  few  among 
them  have  felt,  and  which  not  one  of  their  number  has 
been  able  to  accomplish."  This  declares  Him  as  divine  ; 
His  thought  is  the  thought  of  God,  broad  enough  to 
include  all  men,  universal  as  God  Himself. 

It  is,  however,  one  thing  to  have  a  great  idea,  another 
to  give  the  principles  of  truth,  and  life,  and  power,  and 
redemption  from  sin,  the  satisfaction  of  the  spiritual 
needs  of  man  in  all  ages.  Has  Jesus  Christ  not  merely 
had  the  thought  of  universality,  but  risen  to  the  uni- 
versal religion  for  all  men  and  all  ages,  and  endured 
the  test  of  all  thought  and  civilization?  Harris  says: 
"A  god  of  the  Scandinavian  mythology  was  once  tested 
in  various  ways  to  prove  his  power.  Among  other 
trials  he  was  challenged  to  a  race  and  was  outrun. 
He  afterwards  learned  that  his  competitor  in  the  race 
had  been  Human  Thought.  In  all  that  pertains  to 
man's  moral  and  spiritual  life  Christ  has  been  tested 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  419 

in  the  race  with  human  thought  for  1800  years,  and 
has  been  always  in  advance.  In  fact,  it  is  much  more 
than  this.  He  has  kept  the  lead,  while,  by  His  spiritual 
quickening  of  men,  it  is  He  Himself  who  has  given  to 
human  thought  its  power  and  speed."  It  is  startling 
if  one  will  but  observe  how  the  final  word  in  any 
human  movement  is  from  Christ.  Always  He  beckons 
us  up  to  larger  heights.  We  recall  listening  in  a  great 
university  to  the  discussion  of  a  moral  social  move- 
ment, where  the  latest  scientific  research  and  conclu- 
sions were  thoroughly  brought  forward ;  suddenly  at 
the  close  of  the  final  word  was  the  truth  taught  by 
Jesus  Christ,  clear  as  a  sunbeam  and  warm  with  His 
personal  example. 

One  other  thought  in  this  brief  discussion  of  a 
great  theme,  the  universality  of  Christ  is  manifest 
in  His  life  and  personality.  Jesus  Christ  appeals  to 
all ;  He  appeals  to  children  and  men,  to  woman  and 
man.  He  is  the  one  man  whose  example  is  as  touch- 
ing, inspiring  and  sympathetic  to  women  as  to  men. 
He  combines  the  feminine  qualities  with  the  masculine. 
He  is  strong  and  yet  tender,  just  yet  loving,  true  yet 
compassionate,  manly  but  self-sacrificing;  brave  men 
cannot  endure  the  fire  of  His  glance,  little  children 
cluster  around  Him,  won  by  the  love  of  His  look ;  He 
is  the  king  yet  a  servant;  the  Lion  of  Judah.  the  Lamb 
of  God ;  He  is  not  a  man.  He  is  man  complete  and  per- 
fect, and  yet  manhood  interwoven  w'ith  the  divine.  All 
through  the  centuries  has  this  universality  been  proved. 
Now,  as  then,  He  is  intensely  loved  and  hated.  Like 
none  other,  that  love  is  as  satisfying  to  us  who  love 
Him  as  when  He  walked  the  earth  in  flesh.  He  still 
calls  us  to  Himself.  He  whispers  peace  and  rest  to 
the  sinner  and  the  heavy-laden.  He  makes  the  child 
glad,  the  old  man  joyful.  He  is  our  companion,  shep- 
herd, friend.  No  one  ever  comes  to  Him  and  is  disap- 
pointed. "Whom  not  having  seen  we  love,  and  in  Him 
we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory." 


WATCHWORDS 

"Whenever  you  find  a  beautiful  saying  in  prose  or 
verse" — this  W2is  the  advice  of  an  old  school-master — 
"copy  it  out  and  put  it  where  you  can  see  it  daily,  and, 
if  possible,  many  times  a  day.  This  may  be  trouble- 
some at  times,  but  by  the  end  of  the  year  you  will 
have  grown  in  wisdom  and  in  goodness."  "Many  a 
belted  knight  in  the  old  days,"  he  would  observe,  "was 
kept  in  the  path  of  honor  and  chivalry  by  the  remem- 
brance of  the  little  motto  on  his  shield.  Make  some 
text,  some  verse  of  the  poets,  some  passage  you  have 
read,  your  motto ;  change  it  if  you  like,  but  never  be 
without  one." 

It  is  remarkable  how  many  great  lives  have  had 
some  clear-cut  truth  that  guided  them  in  their  doing. 
Sometimes  the  watchword  has  been  the  same  through- 
out life,  sometimes  it  has  been  changed;  but,  whilst  it 
lasted,  around  it  have  been  marshaled  purpose,  thought 
and  effort.  As  in  a  symphony  around  the  theme  are 
woven  all  the  beautiful  harmonies,  preserving  them  in 
lovely  relation  and  bringing  them  into  satisfying  unity, 
so  it  has  been  with  these  lives.  Around  the  simple 
principle  have  been  marshaled  the  complexities  of  life 
until  a  harmonious  and  growing  character  has  re- 
sulted. 

The  watchword  of  Wellington  was  "duty" — and 
the  strong,  steadfast  life  of  the  great  general  har- 
monizes with  the  duty  that  rises  above  selfish  claims. 
His  great  adversary,  Napoleon,  adopted  as  his  maxim, 
"A  career  open  to  talent,"  which  was  a  solace  to  his 
proud  spirit  when  the  aristocrats  of  his  neighborhood 
ridiculed  his  plainness  of  dress  and  poverty.  It  brought 
him  to  distinction,  and  though  later  this  changed  to 
"glory,"  as  watchword,  yet  the  latter  but  emphasizes 
the  first  part  of  the  watchword,  "a  career."    Morrison, 

420 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  421 

the  missionary  to  China,  who  labored  so  wonderfully 
translating  into  the  tongue  of  that  empire  the  gospel, 
fashioned  his  life  with  two  watchwords — the  first, 
"It  is  my  duty,"  the  second,  "Look  up,  look  up."  He 
made  possible  all  duty,  because  he  drew  his  strength 
from  God.  Luther  has  the  word  "faith"  central  in 
life  and  conviction.  It  rings  everywhere  its  strong  ap- 
peal in  his  writings.  It  is  the  source  of  his  battle- 
hymn,  "A  mighty  stronghold  is  our  God,"  it  is  the 
dominating  principle  of  his  character. 

If  one  traces  his  own  life,  he  will  find  that  certain 
plain  maxims  have  had  much  to  do  w'ith  the  molding 
of  his  own  character.  A  friend,  who  grows  quite  con- 
fidential, says  that  two  things  ran  through  his  young 
manhood  as  the  golden  strings  on  which  the  pearls  of 
his  success  were  strung  unconsciously  to  himself :  the 
one  was.  "Do  the  duty  that  lies  next  to  you"  ;  the  other, 
"Faithfully  do  what  is  given  you  to  do."  He  is  only 
an  ordinary  man,  of  ordinary  talent,  but  he  has  been 
more  than  ordinarily  successful  in  his  life,  and  has 
done  not  a  little  good,  whilst  he  is  credited  with  far 
more  ability  than  he  probably  possesses. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  such  watchwords  dis- 
pense with  knowledge,  or  make  men  narrow.  They 
simply  are  the  girdle  of  the  loins,  that  make  endeavor 
in  every  direction  possible,  but  give  unity  to  purpose. 
The  wall  of  one  of  the  prison  rooms  of  the  Tower  of 
London  has  scratched  upon  it,  "He  that  endureth  to 
the  end  shall  be  saved."  The  prisoner  for  conscience' 
sake  scratched  it  upon  the  wall  that  he  might  see  it, 
and,  inspirited  thereby,  defy  death  rather  than  miss  his 
salvation.  He  knew  the  gospel,  Christ  was  to  him  the 
Saviour — the  richness  of  a  devoted  life  was  his ;  but 
he  needed  just  those  words  to  give  fiber  to  his  spirit- 
ual manhood.  The  watchword  crystalizes  for  partic- 
ular purpose  our  knowledge  and  convictions. 

It  is  not  without  foundation  that  Peter's  epistles 
are  said  to  center  around  the  word   "hope,"  John's 


422  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

around  "love,"  Paul's  around  "faith,"  James's  around 
"works."  Yet  not  one  of  them  failed  in  the  other 
virtues  as  well ;  but  their  distinctive  peculiarities  are 
thus  expressed,  which  gives  the  flavor  and  vigor  of  in- 
dividuality. 

Watchwords  may,  and  oft  ought,  to  change.  Some- 
times they  are  wrong;  sometimes  they  are  outgrown, 
or  give  place  to  better  ones.  Saul,  the  persecutor,  had 
as  his  first  motto  "the  works  of  the  law,"  and  wrought 
along  its  lines  the  typical  Pharisee.  He  changed  that 
by  the  grace  of  God  to  "the  righteousness  which  is  by 
faith  in  Christ  Jesus,"  and  out  of  it  came  the  life  which 
was  so  rich  in  all  that  is  lovable,  good  and  great.  Might 
it  not  be  added  that  the  energy  of  Paul  expresses  itself 
in  that  heart-broken  question,  as  he  lay  prostrate  be- 
fore the  Lord,  "Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  ?" 

It  is  well  to  have  a  watchword — it  is  better  to  have 
the  best  watchword.  Some  have  unconsciously  max- 
ims of  the  world — selfish,  grasping,  ambitious.  Others 
have  watchwords  in  which  there  is  no  thought  of  God. 
As  the  influence  is  so  far-reaching,  sober  examina- 
tion should  be  made  that  the  watchword  that  molds 
conduct  and  action  should  be  known.  If  worldly  or 
evil,  it  should  be  repudiated,  and  some  great,  far-reach- 
ing principle  adopted  whose  roots  are  in  God,  and  it 
should  be  enriched  by  knowledge,  and  illuminated  by 
the  light  of  Christ  Jesus. 


THWARTED  PURPOSES 

There  is  something-  pathetic  in  the  denial  to  David 
of  his  purpose  to  l)uild  a  house  unto  the  Lord.  The 
man  loyal  to  God,  rich  in  devotion,  keenly  alive  to  the 
contrast  that  he  dwelt  in  a  house  of  cedar  whilst  the 
ark  of  God  dwelt  in  a  tent,  seems  to  human  thought 
better  fitted  to  build  the  temple  than  his  grandiose  son, 
whose  human  sympathies  and  longings  after  God  are 
so  far  below  David's. 

Some  men  must  prepare  the  materials ;  others  build 
with  the  materials.  Some  men  do  the  real  work ; 
others  carry  off  the  credit.  The  temple  was  called 
Solomon's ;  in  reality  it  was  David's.  He  conceived 
the  thought,  drew  up  the  plan,  prepared  the  materials, 
won  the  peace  by  his  battles  which  gave  Solomon  the 
prosperity  and  the  leisure  to  complete  the  building-. 
Even  the  co-operation  of  Hiram  of  Tyre  was  secured 
because  he  loved  David. 

Withal  God  demands  a  fitness  between  His  instru- 
ments and  His  works.  David's  roug-h,  warlike  life,  the 
bloody  deeds  that  marked  his  wars,  defensive  though 
they  were,  made  him  unfit  to  build  the  temple  of  peace, 
to  the  God  of  peace.  Solomon,  the  prince  of  peace, 
should  erect  His  house  and  be  prophetic  of  Him  who, 
the  true  Prince  of  Peace,  should  build  the  Church  of 
the  living  God. 

Men  cannot  be  all  things.  Circumstances  cannot 
make  our  character,  but  they  may  force  us  into  lives 
which  leave  unrealized  our  fondest  desires.  Somehow 
men  are  continually  thwarted  in  this  life.  The  man 
that  would  be  a  student  and  devote  himself  to  books 
and  intellectual  research,  must  toil  to  win  bread  for 
those  dependent  upon  him.  The  heart  aflame  with  the 
missionary  spirit  must  labor  at  the  carpenter's  bench. 
The  soul  that  longs  for  peace  and  sweet  hours  of  medi- 

423 


424  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

tation,  is  forced  into  the  bustle  of  business  or  the  strife 
of  tongues.  In  our  own  experience,  a  friend,  who  was 
drawn  to  the  ministry,  developed  throat  trouble  with 
hemorrhages  and  was  compelled  to  be  a  man  of  busi- 
ness all  his  days. 

It  is  good  to  remember  that  God  looked  upon 
David's  intention  and  gave  it  the  same  reward  as  the 
finished  result.  "Forasmuch  as  it  was  in  thine  heart 
to  build  an  house  to  my  name,  thou  didst  well  that 
it  was  in  thine  heart."  In  God's  sight  David  built  the 
temple,  for  to  Him  the  purpose  is  as  the  performance. 

There  is  a  charming  story  from  the  olden  times  of 
a  king  who  desired  to  build  a  cathedral  to  God's  glory, 
to  which  no  one  was  to  contribute  save  himself.  He 
engraved  his  name  upon  the  finished  cathedral,  but 
the  next  morning  it  had  disappeared  and  the  name  of 
an  unknown  woman  stood  in  its  place.  No  one  of  the 
officials  knew  the  name.  On  search  an  old  woman  was 
found  who,  on  being  interrogated  as  to  what  she  had 
done  that  her  name  should  displace  the  king's,  an- 
swered, "I  did  nothing  but  bring  a  little  hay  to  the 
horses  that  drew  the  great  building-stones,  that  I  might 
glorify  God  to  whom  the  cathedral  was  being  built." 
And  the  king  knew  that  a  purpose  in  a  heart  devoted 
to  God,  is  in  His  sight  more  than  riches  given  from  a 
desire  to  honor  self. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  sincerity  of  the 
purpose  was  shown  by  David's  after-conduct.  It  was 
no  hazy  day-dream,  not  as  when  people  say,  if  I  were 
rich,  how  I  would  give  to  the  Lord,  and  give  scantily 
of  what  they  have,  their  fancy  excusing  them  from 
to-day's  plain  duty.  Such  persons,  if  rich,  would  be 
no  more  liberal  than  others  of  the  grasping  rich.  "He 
that  is  faithful  in  that  which  is  least  is  faithful  also 
in  much."  David  could  not  build  himself ;  he  could 
prepare  treasures  and  materials  for  another.  He  could 
put  self  aside  and  say,  "Lord,  use  me  and  my  wealth, 
it  matters  not  who  eets  the  credit." 


GENERAL    RELIGIOUS    THEMES  425 

After  all,  with  the  light  that  Jesus  has  thrown  upon 
life,  it  may  be  said  that  the  realization  will  be  fulfilled 
in  the  life  to  come.  The  man  that  used  his  talent  and 
gained  other  ten  is  made  ruler  over  ten  cities ;  that  is, 
his  powers  find  ampler  scope  in  the  other  world.  The 
unfinished  things  will  be  finished  there,  the  thwarted 
purposes  will  no  longer  be  thwarted.  "Round  us  on 
every  side  are  cramped,  hindered,  still-born  lives — 
merchants  who  should  have  been  painters,  clerks  who 
should  have  been  poets,  laborers  who  should  have  been 
philosophers.  Their  talent  is  known  to  a  few  friends; 
they  die,  and  the  talent  is  buried  in  their  coffin.  Jesus 
says  no.  It  has  at  last  been  sown  for  the  harvest ;  it 
will  come  into  the  open  and  blossom  in  another  land. 
These  also  are  being  trained — trained  by  waiting. 
They  are  the  reserve  of  the  race,  kept  behind  the  hill 
till  God  requires  it.  They  will  get  their  chance,  they 
will  come  into  their  kingdom, 

'Where  the  days  bury  their  golden  suns, 
In  the  dear  hopeful  west.' " 

Yet  there  is  one  other  thought  that  David's  thwarted 
purposes,  his  rough  work  of  foundation-laying  on 
which  Solomon's  glorious  kingdom  was  built,  wrought 
in  him  that  rich  character  which  in  him  survives  in  the 
psalms  which  have  in  them  trust,  praise,  longings 
after  God,  desire  for  holiness,  sobbings  and  triumphs, 
lifted  the  devout  of  all  ages  to  the  throne  of  God. 
Somehow  God's  hand  is  in  all  our  thwarted  purposes 
and  in  the  things  which  are  to  us  drudgery  and  unwel- 
come duty.  Accepting  them  as  David  did,  they  shall 
be  woven  into  the  w^arp  and  woof  of  our  characters, 
making  them  Christlike  forevermore. 


PERSONAL  WORK 

Emphasis  is  being  strongly  laid  to-day  on  personal 
work.  There  is  insistence  that  Christians  should  per- 
sonally speak  to  others  concerning  Christ.  For  the 
great  means  of  bringing  others  to  the  Saviour,  results 
prove,  is  personal  work.  All  of  us,  calling  to  mind  our 
really  effective  work  with  those  not  Christ's,  will  con- 
fess that  it  was  our  personal  seeking,  personal  interest, 
personal  appeal,  that  brought  them  to  reflection,  repent- 
ance and  confession.  On  a  larger  scale  we  have  the 
following  testimony:  "In  the  study  of  the  religious 
experiences  of  251  boys  in  preparatory  schools  all  over 
the  country,  described  in  the  Pedagogical  Seminary, 
for  October,  1902,  the  most  powerful  external  influ- 
ences through  which  they  became  Christians  are  men- 
tioned 391  times,  and  of  these  379  are  from  persons, 
and  only  21  are  from  such  sources  as  reading,  prayer 
and  Bible  study." 

Dr.  Dixon,  on  his  way  to  church  one  afternoon,  saw 
three  young  men  standing  on  the  street  corner  talking 
pleasantly  with  each  other,  and  the  thought  came, 
"Why  not  try  to  win  these  young  men  to  Christ  ?  He 
can  save  on  the  street  as  well  as  in  church."  "So  I 
walked  up  to  them,"  he  continues,  "and  asked  in 
as  cheerful  a  voice  as  I  could  command,  'Young  gentle- 
men, are  you  all  Christians  ?'  'Yes,  thank  you,'  replied 
two  of  them,  'we  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Church.'  'No,'  answered  the  third,  with  rather  an  em- 
barrassed expression,  'I  am  not,  but  my  mother  is  a 
member  of  the  same  church  with  these  young  men !' 
I  said  to  him,  'Will  you  come  with  me  to  a  meeting  we 
are  to  hold  in  a  few  minutes?'  'Thank  you,'  he  said, 
'but  I  haven't  time,  for  I  am  very  busy  preparing  for 
examination  in  high  school  next  week !'  The  Spirit 
seemed  to  give  me  the  right  answer  when  I  asked  the 

426 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  427 

question,  'Are  vou  ready  for  the  great  examination  in 
the  future?'  And  I  passed  on  to  the  meeting.  Withm 
a  few  minutes  I  saw  that  voung  man  come  m  the  door 
and  take  a  back  seat.  He  is  now  a  mmister  of  the  gos- 
pel and  savs  that  his  Christian  life  began  on  the  street 
corner  when  the  question  was  asked  which  he  could 
not  answer  until  he  accepted  Jesus  Christ  as  Saviour. 
Personal  work  brought  that  young  man  to  Jesus. 

Personal  work  that  counts  must  have  the  heart  be- 
hind it  The  ring  of  truth  and  conviction  must  be  in 
the  words  spoken.  Speech  must  not  be  perfunctory. 
They  that  are  spoken  to  must  see  love  in  the  eye  and 
hear  the  longing  that  they,  too,  may  share  the  treas- 
ure Christ,  with  you.  in  the  tone.  To  fire  others,  one 
must  be  on  fire  himself.  A  sketch  of  a  successful  book 
canvasser,  in  a  late  book,  shows  that  he  believed  in  the 
worth  of  the  book  he  offered.  He  read  it  and  re- 
read it  until  he  could  marshal  at  command  all  its  telhng 
points.  "Learn  your  business,"  he  said  in  advising 
others.  "Put  yourself,  your  best  self,  into  it,  and  then 
you  mav  hope  to  succeed  in  it."  He  showed  enthusi- 
asm to  l5e  the  cardinal  principle  of  success,  but  enthu- 
siasm that  had  its  basis  in  fact. 

There  is  a  great  lesson  for  personal  workers  in  the 
book  canvasser.  We  must  know  the  gospel,  the  Christ 
we  present  to  others.  Knowing  our  need  of  Him,  His 
preciousness.  we  have  the  basis  of  truth  for  enthusi- 
astic presentation  of  Him  to  others. 

After  all,  the  book  canvasser  learned  how  to  present 
his  book  by  presenting  it.  His  first  efiforts  were  crude, 
but  experience  taught  him  how  to  approach  a  man  and 
how  to  present  his  book  in  the  best  \vay.  The  personal 
worker  learns  how  to  work  by  going  to  work.  He 
may  blunder  at  first,  but  his  very  blunders  will  help 
him  in  his  next  endeavors.  He  will  know  better  how 
to  approach  a  man  and  avoid  what  ofltends.  Moreover, 
it  is  remarkable  that  our  blunders  are  often  overruled 
for  good. 


428  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

The  personal  worker  quickly  learns  his  own  weak- 
ness even  when  he  is  at  his  best.  Ere  long  he  is  driven 
to  the  mercy-seat  to  seek  the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
that  He  may  prepare  the  heart  of  the  sought  to  re- 
ceive his  words,  that  he  may  be  made  wise  to  seize  the 
proper  opportunity  and  to  speak  the  right  words. 

Do  you  recall  the  Syro-Phenician  woman,  who  was 
apparently  rebuffed  by  Christ?  He  said,  "It  is  not 
meet  to  take  the  children's  bread  and  cast  it  to  dogs." 
Surely  the  Holy  Spirit  gave  her  those  words,  which 
turned  her  Master's  saying  in  her  favor :  "Truth, 
Lord ;  yet  the  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  the 
Master's  table."  So,  the  worker,  whose  heart  is  in  his 
work,  especially  he  who  has  called  upon  God  to  aid  him 
in  the  Lord's  own  work,  will  be  guided  in  his  methods 
and  words  again  and  again  and  lead  many  to  the 
Saviour. 

At  this  time,  when  our  young  people  are  facing 
decision  for  Christ  at  the  Easter  and  Whitsuntide  con- 
firmation, there  is  special  reason  for  personal  work  on 
our  part,  thoughtful,  enthusiastic,  wise  and  patient 
personal  work,  that  rests  for  guidance  and  wisdom 
upon  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  they  may  accept  Christ  as 
Saviour. 


JUDGMENTS 

There  are  two  kinds  of  judgment — superficial  and 
profound.  There  is  much  more  of  the  first  than  of  the 
second.  The  first  is  caught  by  the  surface  indications. 
In  business,  it  gauges  a  man's  standing  by  his  flaming 
advertisements,  the  goods  in  the  windows  and  in  the 
show  cases.  The  second  looks  at  the  honesty  and  the 
integrity,  the  outcome  of  the  business,  the  books  with 
their  debits  and  credits. 

Superficial  judgment  often  mistakes  dullness  for 
wisdom.  It  thinks  a  man  who  looks  so  wise  ought 
to  be  wise.  The  other  asks  for  a  sentence  rich  with 
instruction.  The  first  counts  men  religious  sometimes 
who  make  long  prayers,  and  are  of  sad  countenance; 
the  second  with  Christ  looks  into  the  heart. 

In  all  our  church  life  and  work  we  ought  to  judge 
profoundly.  What  is  the  outcome?  To  what  good? 
Why  does  a  church  exist?  To  save  men  from  their 
sins,  to  build  them  up  into  Christlike  characters.  A 
church  that  is  faultlessly  correct,  that  never  sins 
against  good  taste,  that  never  blunders  into  enthusiasm, 
but  does  not  reach  men,  or,  only  in  a  feeble  way,  can- 
not superciliously  despise  another  that  makes  mistakes 
against  the  correct  thing,  but  reaches  and  saves  men. 

The  minister  who  is  well  educated,  faultless  in  his 
rhetoric,  but  dull,  unemotional,  not  the  least  bit  sensa- 
tional, and  who  has  but  a  handful  to  hear  him  cannot 
afford  to  salve  his  conscience  by  calling  his  neighbor 
a  sensationalist  who  fills  his  church  and  saves  men 
and  builds  them  up  in  righteousness. 

Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  are  attendances  everything. 
The  church  that  spends  everything  to  attract  men,  by 
its  music,  its  bright  and  sparkling  preacher,  and  can 
never  do  anything  for  God's  great  works  at  large, 
is  simply  full  of  refined  selfishness.     One  thinks  of 

429 


430  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

the  English  bishop,  who,  in  a  beautiful  cathedral, 
where  the  music  cost  $4000  a  year,  when  he  received 
$200  as  a  mission  collection,  said  that  "Such  music 
is  a  species  of  refined  selfishness,  for  it  leaves  nothing 
for  the  Lord's  work." 

I  think,  therefore,  we  ought  to  keep  the  real  object 
of  a  church  in  view.  It  is  not  to  glorify  ourselves, 
not  to  bid  for  the  world's  attention,  save  as  it  can 
help  it,  not  to  be  a  refuge  for  dull  respectability,  not 
to  be  a  correct,  faultless,  but  dead  organization,  but 
to  do  good,  to  convert  men,  to  edify  saints,  to  be  a 
throbbing  center  of  vigorous  Christian  life,  energetic 
in  every  good  work,  full  of  the  spirit  of  Christian 
giving,  lifting  holy  hands  in  prayer.  What  then  are 
we?  What  are  the  words  and  works  of  the  pastor? 
What  are  the  results  of  our  combined  life?  If  good, 
let  us  continue  and  improve.  If  indifferent,  then  let 
us  adopt  such  measures  as  will  make  us  the  Lord's 
Church. 


THE  TRUTH  IN  LOVE 

In  these  days  of  controversy,  when  one  is  incHned 
to  become  excited,  the  judgment  is  apt  to  warp,  and 
reckless  assertions  are  made  which  have  no  founda- 
tion. We  cannot  all  think  alike,  but  we  can  make  an 
effort  to  judge  each  other  charitably.  A  story  is  told 
of  a  clergyman  in  the  early  days  of  the  historic  Ox- 
ford movement.  "He  was  traveling  in  a  railway  car- 
riage, when  a  lady,  with  whom  he  was  in  conversation, 
lamented  the  turn  things  were  taking  in  ritualism. 
There  's  that  dreadful  Dr.  Pusey ;  he  sacrifices  a  lamb 
every  Friday!'  'Really,  madam,  you  must  be  mis- 
taken.' 'Oh,  dear,  no,  I  am  not !  I  have  it  on  the  best 
authority  that  he  sacrifices  a  lamb  every  Friday.'  T 
really  do  think  you  must  be  mistaken,  for  I  am  Dr. 
Pusey,  and  I  really  do  not  know  how  I  should  begin  to 
set  about  it.'  "  There  is  a  strong  prepossession  to 
credit  evil  things  of  our  opponent,  but  care  should 
the  more  be  taken  on  this  very  account  to  know  our 
facts. 

The  other  day  the  following  came  under  our  notice 
and  set  us  to  thinking.  An  English  judge  received  an 
application  from  a  Jew  whose  son  had  just  received 
a  severe  sentence  for  perjury.  "Ah,  sir !  my  son  is  de 
very  best  boy  in  de  world  for  de  trut'.  He  always 
shpeak  de  trut'.  and  sometimes  he  was  so  fond  of  it 
dat  he  would  tell  more  dan  de  trut'." 

There  is  a  distinguished  clergyman  who  has  a  na- 
tional reputation,  who  has  always  seemed  to  us  to  err 
in  this  direction.  He  seldom  states  the  position  of  his 
opponents  with  fairness.  He  often  states  the  truth 
with  picturesque  additions  which  are  his  own.  He 
paints  everything  with  a  big  brush.  If  you  do  not  ex- 
amine too  closely,  the  effect  is  gorgeous.  If  you  care- 
fully scan  the  details,  you  find  them  imperfect  and 

431 


432  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

faulty.  He  has  a  national  reputation,  but  he  has  no 
influence  with  thoughtful  men,  either  of  the  world  or 
of  the  Church.  His  understatements  and  his  over- 
statements disgust.  His  oratory  and  his  wit  and  his 
good  intentions  carry  him  along,  but  "his  name  is  writ 
in  water." 

The  apostle  wisely  enjoined  men  "to  speak  the  truth 
in  love."  It  is  the  Christian  combination  of  two  great 
things.  Speak  the  truth  is  a  first  requisite  jealously 
to  be  guarded  as  we  value  our  own  spiritual  life  and 
the  progress  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  love  of 
truth  will  make  us  just  to  all  and  clear-eyed;  the  truth 
of  love  will  make  us  gentle  to  all  and  winning.  The 
uncompromising  Christ  was  also  meek  and  gentle. 

It  is  remarkable  that  we  accord  to  men  great  honor 
when  they  are  dead,  of  whom  we  could  scarcely  say 
decent  things  whilst  they  lived.  It  is  true,  the  battle 
was  on,  and  tendencies,  real  and  imaginary,  excited 
the  utmost  alarm.  But  justice  and  charity  should  be 
exercised  toward  them,  if  we  believe  God  is  and  that 
the  truth  will  prevail.  Our  shrieking  and  howling 
rather  indicate  that  we  are  afraid  of  our  side.  Claims 
to  be  martyrs,  and  posing  as  the  elect  sent  for  the 
salvation  of  Israel,  look  as  though  we  were  whistling 
to  keep  our  courage  up.  The  Lord  reigns,  the  truth 
will  prevail,  and  we  may  possess  our  souls  in  peace,  if 
we  believe  it.  Why  not,  then,  be  just  to  men  before 
they  die? 

John  Keble  was  certainly  a  High  Church  man,  who 
came  in  for  a  round  share  of  abuse  from  the  Evangel- 
icals whilst  he  lived.  Matters  have  greatly  changed 
since  his  death,  for  Dean  Howson  is  authority  for  the 
statement  that  his  "Christian  Year"  is  now  the  great 
delight  of  Scotch  Presbyterians.  For  the  spiritual 
man  in  Keble  was  profoundly  Christlike  and  is  recog- 
nized by  all  likeminded. 

The  Church  needs  to  remember  that  truth  in  love 
is  due  to  every  man,  opponent  or  friend. 


TALENT  AND  EQUIPMENT 

In  the  great  picture  gallery  of  Antwerp,  among  the 
painters  who  copy  the  renowned  works  of  art.  one  is 
especially  conspicuous.  His  work  is  good,  but  does 
not  attract  the  attention  of  the  visitor  as  much  as  the 
way  in  which  it  is  done.  He  sits  on  a  high  chair  be- 
fore his  easel  and  paints,  holding  the  brush  with  his 
toes.  He  has  no  hands.  There  must  have  been  a  time 
when  with  the  artistic  talent  it  seemed  to  him  with- 
out hands  he  never  could  be  a  painter.  He  lacked 
equipment.  He  had,  however,  some  equipment,  poor, 
indeed,  but  better  than  none.  His  toes  might  take 
the  place  of  fingers.  He  tried  and  persevered  with 
these  awkward  members  until  he  is  able  to  reproduce 
the  lovely  paintings,  his  drawing  and  coloring  ac- 
curate and  pleasing. 

Equipment  is  a  splendid  thing,  but  talent  is  better. 
The  best  equipment  in  the  world  without  the  talent 
of  the  painter  results  in  daubs  of  which  even  a  house- 
painter  would  be  ashamed.  Talent  is  the  essential. 
Paganini  with  one  string  could  call  forth  from  the 
violin  more  entrancing  music  than  many  with  full- 
stringed  violins.  Demosthenes,  the  stutterer,  became 
the  great  orator  of  Athens. 

It  is  very  true  that  lack  of  equipment  is  dishearten- 
ing. Moses  felt  it  when  he  replied  to  the  command 
of  the  Lord  to  speak  unto  Pharaoh  and  declare  His 
will,  "Oh,  my  Lord,  I  am  not  eloquent,  neither  here- 
tofore nor  since  Thou  has  spoken  unto  Thy  servant ; 
but  I  am  slow  of  speech  and  of  a  slow  tongue."  Nor 
would  he  be  persuaded  even  by  the  Lord  Himself, 
but  burdened  himself  with  Aaron  as  spokesman,  to 
his  after  distress  and  hurt  of  the  people  of  Israel. 
Jonah,  too,  was  sure  he  had  not  the  equipment  where- 
28  433 


434  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

with  to  face  Nineveh,  and  was  taught  by  almost  death 
itself  that  he  had. 

A  great  many  Christians  have  talent,  but  they  are 
conscious  that  their  equipment  is  meager.  There  is 
one,  for  instance,  with  a  deep  and  personal  love  to  the 
Master,  who  has  the  gift  to  win  the  love  and  interest 
of  the  children ;  but,  with  little  knowledge  of  books 
and  with  blundering  speech.  There  is  a  painful  con- 
sciousness of  lack  of  equipment,  and  with  it  an  im- 
pulse to  bury  the  God-given  talent.  I  think  this  is 
one  great  trouble  with  many  that  might  become 
splendid  teachers  ini  a  Sunday  school.  They  are  like 
soldiers  who  would  skip  the  awkward  squad,  and  be 
masters  of  drill  without  patient  practice. 

It  is  so  in  many  other  ways — in  the  visitation  of  the 
sick,  in  sympathy  with  the  poor,  in  the  public  prayers, 
in  the  gift  of  the  administration,  equipment  is  lacking, 
though  the  talent  be  in  the  man. 

The  remedy  is  to  use  the  equipment  that  you  have. 
The  talent  will  express  itself  strongly  even  with  im- 
perfect equipment.     Mr.  Sill  sets  this  forth : 

"This  I  beheld,  or  dreamed  it  in  a  dream : 
There  spread  a  cloud  of  dust  along  a  plain ; 
And  underneath  the  cloud,  or  in  it,  raged 
A  furious  battle,  and  men  yelled,  and  swords 
Shocked  upon  swords  and  shields.     A  prince's  banner 
Wavered,  then  staggered  backward,  hemmed  by  foes. 
A  craven  hung  along  the  battle's  edge, 
And  thought,  'Had  I  a  sword  of  keener  steel — 
That  blue  blade  that  the  king's  son  bears — but  this 
Blunt  thing.'     He  snapt  and  flung  it  from  his  hand, 
And  lowering  crept  away  and  left  the  field. 
Then  came  the  king's  son,  wounded,  sore  bestead, 
And  weaponless,  and  saw  the  broken  sword, 
Hilt  buried  in  the  dry  and  trodden  sand, 
And  ran  and  snatched  it  and  with  battle  shout 
Lifted  afresh,  he  hewed  his  enemy  down. 
And  saved  a  great  cause  this  heroic  day." 

The  craven  could  not  conquer  with  unbroken  sword ; 
the  prince  won  a  great  victory  with  the  fragment  of  the 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  435 

despised  sword.  This  is  a  picture  of  life,  where  the 
devoted,  eager,  resolute  soul,  imperfectly  equipped,  so 
uses  opportunity  that  where  others,  perfectly  equipped, 
despaired,  it  succeeds  gloriously. 

"Stir  up  the  gift  that  is  in  thee,"  says  the  apostle 
to  Timothy.  As  we  do  what  we  can  with  what  we 
have,  each  effort  makes  the  next  more  easy,  enlarges 
the  powers  of  our  imperfect  equipment,  until  at  length 
talent  and  equipment  are  in  harmony.  Of  course,  no 
man  likes  to  make  mistakes,  and  blunders  are  morti- 
fying. But  it  is  better  to  make  mistakes  trying  to  do 
the  right  than  to  make  the  awful  mistake  of  the  man 
with  one  talent,  who,  for  fear  of  mistake,  did  nothing, 
and  was  cast  out  from  the  presence  of  his  Lord. 


MANLY  MINISTERS 

Ministers, especially  if  they  are  lovable  men,  are  apt  to 
have  a  great  deal  of  sympathy  from  their  flock.  Other 
men  must  take  the  buffets  of  a  rude  world,  but  a  con- 
gregation surround  a  minister  and  keep  him  from  con- 
tact with  the  rough  shocks  of  life.  Ministers  are  some- 
times gently  complaining,  "I  am  so  tired,"  "My  work 
is  so  exhausting,"  and  uttering  such  and  like  piteous 
phrases  loll  back  in  the  comfortable  chairs  of  their 
parishioners  and  receive  as  their  rightful  tribute  the 
sympathizing  ministry  of  tender-hearted  women. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  men  grow  savage 
at  times  who  toil  hard  and  receive  mighty  little  petting 
and  coddling.  To  them,  the  minister  is  not  a  manly  man, 
but  an  effeminate.  It  happened  me  some  time  ago  to 
be  in  an  audience  with  a  printer  for  a  companion.  The 
speaker  said,  "The  hardest  worked  man  to-day  was  the 
diligent  pastor  of  a  large  city  church."  My  friend 
humorously  remarked  to  me,  "Except  the  printer  on  a 
morning  daily."  In  America,  every  diligent  man  has  his 
hands  full.  He  must  be  at  it  early  and  late  and  to  the  ex- 
tent of  his  powers.  Such  a  man  cannot  help  but  feel 
contempt  for  the  ministers,  who  work  no  harder,  if  as 
hard,  as  he,  but  who  are  always  hunting  for  a  patient 
ear  to  listen  to  their  gentle  complaints  of  hard  work. 
The  first  great  minister  of  the  Christian  Church  was 
not  given  to  complaints.  Our  Lord  strongly  did  His 
work.  When  He  needed  rest  He  sought  it,  but  when 
He  worked  He  worked  bravely  and  joyously. 

The  tender  ministry  of  pastors  will  always  gain  them 
the  sympathy  of  the  congregation.  The  majority  of  us 
get  as  good  and  even  better  treatment  than  we  de- 
serve. There  is  plenty  to  do,  and,  what  is  greater, 
responsibility  for  souls.  The  pastor  will  often  be 
asked  to  do  more  than  his  strength  will  bear,  but  let 

436 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  437 

him  be  manly.  It  is  manlike  to  meet  difficulties  and 
overcome  them,  rejoicing  in  the  opportunity.  One 
thinks  of  the  manly  warrior  in  the  time  of  the  Black 
Prince,  who  said,  whenever  there  was  a  battle  in  which 
the  odds  were  against  him,  "1  perceive  there  is  great 
honor  to  be  gained  here  to-day,"  and  as  joyously  as 
other  men  might  go  to  the  dancing-floor,  went  to  the 
bitter  battle.  The  honor  to  work  with  God  ought  to 
be  enough. 

Tt  is  manly  to  bear  our  burdens  and  not  to  complain, 
to  quietly  complete  our  tasks  and  seek  for  approval 
from  above.  It  is  manly,  if  we  are  overcrowded, 
simply  to  state  the  fact  without  whimpering,  and  de- 
cline, for  God  never,  whatever  men  may  do,  lays  upon 
us  more  than  we  can  bear. 

Strange  ideas  of  a  manly  ministry  come  from  an 
overstraining  of  athletics.  Muscular  Christianity  is 
the  rage,  but  big  bodies  are  not  big  souls.  Many  of  the 
manliest  men  have  been  small  of  stature.  Stanley,  of 
England,  was  little  and  delicate  in  frame,  but  his  heart 
was  the  heart  of  a  lion.  Bicyclists,  tennis  players, 
baseball  enthusiasts,  may  bulk  large  on  the  turf  and 
in  the  pulpit,  but  complain  as  much  as  the  lean,  lank 
and  physically  weak  brethren.  In  the  ministry  it  is 
conviction,  courage,  joyous  soul  and  patient  steadiness 
that  counts  with  men.  The  man  who  unflinchingly 
marks  his  duty,  does  it,  and  begs  not  for  sympathy 
for  that  which  he  ought  to  do,  he  honors  his  profes- 
sion and  has  the  spirit  of  his  Master. 


LIFE  MORE  THAN  WORD 


There  is  a  plain  tablet  in  Balliol  Chapel,  Oxford, 
bearing  the  name  Richard  Lewis  Nettleship  and  the 
words :  "He  lived  great  things  and  thought  little  of 
himself ;  desiring  neither  fame  nor  influence,  he  won 
the  devotion  of  men  and  was  a  power  in  their  lives, 
and,  seeking  no  disciples,  he  taught  to  many  the  great- 
ness of  the  world  and  man's  mind." 

This  man  did  not  write  much.  A  biographical  sketch 
of  Thomas  Hill  Green,  an  essay  on  Plato's  conception 
of  goodness  and  some  editing  were  his  chief  works. 
Some  fragments  have  been  gathered  since  he  died.  Yet 
he  has  been  and  is  now  a  potent  force.  He  himself 
said :  "I  feel  more  than  I  used  to  do  that  the  fact  that 
men  like  Socrates  and  Christ  zvrote  nothing  does  some- 
how go  along  with  their  unique  greatness.  I  do  seem 
to  see  that  if  one  could  literally  live  one's  theories  and 
beliefs  it  would  be  something  greater  than  any  book 
one  would  be  likely  to  write." 

Here  is  a  truth  well  worth  weighing.  It  does  not 
mean  that  it  is  not  a  great  thing  to  write  well,  and  give 
the  world  thoughts  upon  which  to  feed  and  thoughts 
to  inspire.  But  it  does  mean  that  the  greater  thing 
is  to  live  nobly.  Being  is  the  great  thing,  not  doing, 
for  the  highest  doing  must  always  rest  on  being.  Life 
is  always  higher  than  the  transcript  of  life.  As  has 
well  been  said :  The  food  of  other  men's  thoughts  is 
so  nourishing  and  solacing  a  part  of  our  lives  that  we 
are  apt  to  attribute  some  special  merit  to  the  mere  ply- 
ing of  the  literary  trade,  fancying  that  it  demands 
some  special  endowment,  some  unique  gift.  We  for- 
get that  merit  never  attaches  to  an  act,  but  always  de- 
pends on  the  force  that  projects  the  act." 

Anyone  who  uses  words  feels  their  inability  to  ex- 
press his  thought.     Many  things  really  cannot  be  put 

438 


GENERAL    RELIGIOUS   THEMES  439 

into  words.  They  must  be  experienced  before  they 
can  be  known.  Having  loved,  we  know  what  love  is, 
but  who  can  exactly  define  love?  Who  can  explain 
faith  to  him  who  has  never  believed?  How  often  we 
must  say  to  children,  asking  puzzling  questions,  "Wait, 
you  will  understand  what  you  ask  after  awhile,"  which 
is  but  another  way  of  saying,  "After  you  have  experi- 
enced what  you  ask  you  will  understand." 

Robertson,  in  one  of  his  sermons,  put  this  finely, 
as  he  comments  on  the  silence  of  Christ  when  Pilate 
asked  Him,  "What  is  truth?"  by  the  statement,  "Christ 
did  not  answer  Pilate  because  He  had  lived  thirty 
years  before  men  that  men  might  know  that  truth  by 
His  life,  the  truth  that  can  never  be  fully  expressed 
by  word." 

The  prophet  that  left  the  most  wonderful  impres- 
sion on  Israel  was  Elijah.  He  never  wrote  a  word. 
His  life  was  so  great  and  lofty  that  the  memory  of  it 
continued  through  the  centuries,  and  it  became  a  con- 
viction that  the  Messiah  could  not  appear  unless  Elijah 
should  first  come  and  prepare  the  way.  The  written 
word  of  Isaiah  and  the  other  prophets  as  the  cen- 
turies have  passed  are  weightier  now ;  yet  even  these 
prophets  felt  Elijah's  influence  and  embodied  in  their 
writings  the  truths  which  he  placed  in  the  foreground 
by  his  life. 

The  lesson  to  us  is  that  the  central  thing  is  to  live. 
Fine  as  it  is  to  speak  and  to  write  well  and  strongly, 
it  is  finer  to  live  well.  The  influence  of  a  life  strongly 
lived  in  Christ  is  greater  than  any  words  we  can  speak. 
It  may  be  very  gratifying  to  our  self-love  to  speak 
and  write  well,  but  it  will  never  avail  as  our  lives, 
beautifully  setting  forth  Christ.  Indeed,  the  very 
potency  of  our  words  must  in  the  long  run  spring  from 
our  lives.  Only  as  we  live  can  we  have  the  insight 
into  truth,  the  word  of  conviction  that  convinces,  the 
heart-tones  that  go  to  other  hearts. 

This  is  possible  to  all.    We  can  live  a  Christian  life, 


440 


LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 


we  can  illustrate  faith  to  others  by  the  sweetness, 
purity,  strength  and  trustfulness  of  a  good  and  un- 
selfish life.  The  influence  thus  exerted  will  be  more 
potent  than  speech,  and  will  do  more  to  persuade 
others  to  love  Christ  than  words,  and  will  give  such 
cogency  to  our  broken  speech  for  Him  that  it  shall 
win  and  keep  for  Him  our  scholars  unto  life  ever- 
lasting. 


SOME  DAY,  SOME  GREAT  SERVICE 

How  many  men  and  women,  who  are  neglecting 
common  opportunities  to  serve,  are  speaking  thus  to 
themselves,  "I  am  fully  resolved  some  day  to  do  some 
great  thing  for  God.  I  purpose  the  best.  I  love  Him, 
and  when  He  gives  me  a  task  worthy  of  my  powers 
I  will  do  it."  They  neglect  the  common  duties,  but 
still  their  consciences  by  speeches  like  this. 

A  Cornell  student  puts  this  well  in  what  he  says 
about  Horace  W.  Rose :  "One  day  he  said  to  me, 
'You  fellows  must  be  intending  to  do  a  mighty  lot  of 
personal  work  when  you  once  get  at  it ;  you  are  putting 
it  oft'  so  long,'  for  he  knew  that  many  of  us  who 
were  holding  conspicuous  places  in  the  Cornell  Uni- 
versity Christian  Association  were  not  doing  personal 
work,  but  were  excusing  ourselves  from  it  on  the 
ground  that  we  were  enjoying  special  advantages  in 
the  equipment  for  study  available  at  Cornell,  and  that 
by  putting  more  time  in  our  college  work  we  would 
be  preparing  ourselves  for  more  eft'ective  Christian 
service  later  in  our  lives.  I  believe  we  all  see  now  that 
we  will  never  be  in  a  place  of  more  exceptional  op- 
portunities for  effective  service  than  while  in  college." 

The  Cornell  student  reasoned  well,  for  the  place  for 
service  is  the  place  where  one  is;  keeping  resolutely 
at  the  common,  tiresome  service,  we  do  our  work  for 
Christ  well.  The  truth  is,  "none  but  common  duties 
ever  come  to  us,  every  uncommon  duty  becoming  com- 
mon when  it  appears." 

God  gives  a  man  the  common  service  to  get  him 
ready  for  the  uncommon  service.  He  begins  with 
little  things  that  he  can  do,  and  as  he  gathers  strength 
He  gives  him  work  proportioned  to  that  strength.  The 
child  is  taught  to  read  and  write  first  the  simple  ele- 
mentary branches,  and  afterward  the  larger  ones.     If 

441 


442  LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  CHARLES  S.  ALBERT 

he  never  learns  these,  he  is  unprepared  for  those. 
Unless  he  conquers  his  childish  pettishness  and  boy- 
ish temper,  the  passions  of  age  become  ungovernable; 
unless  a  man  cultivates  the  power  to  do,  the  active 
sympathy,  the  personal  service,  to-day,  the  future 
will  find  him  powerless,  dull  of  heart,  and  utterly  lack- 
ing in  the  faculty  of  personal  work  with  his  fellows. 

"Many  years  ago,"  says  W.  C.  Sage,  "a  friend  of 
mine  was  taking  an  evangelistic  tour  through  the  High- 
lands of  Scotland  in  company  with  a  young  friend, 
recently  converted.  When  they  came  to  the  young 
convert's  native  village,  my  friend  said,  'Samuel,  you 
must  speak  to-night.'  'I  can't,'  was  the  reply,  'I  never 
said  half  a  dozen  words  in  public  in  my  life.'  'But 
you  must ;  God  tells  me  you  are  to  speak  to-night.' 
Accordingly,  at  the  right  moment,  Samuel  arose  in  the 
meeting,  and,  in  trembling,  awkward  fashion,  said, 
'Everyone  here  knows  me.  Parents  used  to  point 
their  children  to  me  and  tell  them  to  be  like  me.  They 
called  me  a  model  boy ;  but  if  I  had  died  three  months 
ago  I  should  have  gone  straight  to  hell'  My  friend 
told  me  afterward  he  could  never  forget  how  the 
power  of  God  came  down  upon  the  meeting.  But  this 
was  only  Samuel's  first  word  for  Christ.  He  has 
spoken  many  since.  For  a  long  period  he  has  been 
a  member  of  Parliament,  and  when  a  word  needs  to 
be  said  on  behalf  of  the  cause  of  God  and  truth  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  Samuel  is  the  man  to  say  it. 
And  somehow  he  makes  people  listen.  But  to-day  he 
would  trace  the  beginning  of  all  that  is  useful  in  his 
public  career  to  those  few  trembling  words,  falteringly 
spoken,  in  his  native  village." 

It  was  but  a  common  duty  the  young  man  met,  a 
common  duty  in  a  small  village,  but  it  was  uncom- 
mon, too,  a  great  service  then  and  the  way  to  great 
service  in  the  after  days. 

Who  may  tell  what  is  the  great  and  small  in  service  ? 
The  Lord  does  not  anywhere  tell  us  to  do  great  things. 


GENERAL   RELIGIOUS   THEMES  443 

He  gives  us  ordinary  opportunities  and  duties,  the 
service  we  call  common.  But  He  does  say,  "He  that 
is  faithful  in  that  which  is  least  is  faithful  also  in 
much."  We  are  to  take  the  common  service  as  His 
and  do  it  for  His  sake,  remembering  that  neglect  of  it 
is  disobedience  to  Him. 

As  we  do  it  we  shall  find  that  it  keeps  us  near  to 
Him,  teaches  us  great  lessons  of  dependence,  fellow- 
ship and  love.  And  lo !  the  little  service  has  in  it  the 
making  of  our  own  greater  Christian  life. 

The  common  service,  as  we  call  it,  may  be  the  un- 
common service.  The  word  spoken,  the  deed  done, 
the  personal  effort  may  drop  like  a  seed  of  infinite 
potentialities  into  the  heart  of  a  friend,  a  scholar,  an 
associate.  There  it  may  live  and  grow,  the  fruitage 
being  salvation  of  a  larger  knowledge  and  discipleship 
of  Christ. 

Or  we  may  come  to  the  larger  life  of  service  our- 
selves, made  ready  for  it  by  the  discipline  of  the  com- 
mon ordinary  service.  Unconscious  to  ourselves  there 
may  be  in  us  the  beauty  of  holiness,  the  large  unselfish- 
ness of  sacrifice,  that  surrender  of  self  to  the  Master 
which  makes  possible  the  incalculable  influence  on 
others,  the  heroic  deed  or  the  martyr's  death. 


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